Spieth, McIlroy And Day: Are They The Next Big Three?

There is a New World Order in professional golf.

That New World Order is made up of three very young guns.

They are Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day. They are 22, 25 and 27 years-old respectively.

Could they possibly be the next Big Three of professional golf?

The last time there was a “Big Three” was in the 1960s and super agent Mark McCormack represented Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player. That trio dominated that decade in golf, winning seven out of 10 money titles and 17 of the 40 major championships.

In 1964 McCormack came up with the idea of a series of head-to-head matches made for television that were filmed late that year and aired in January of 1965. It was called Big Three Golf and it was must-watch television.

Those matches are still must-watch these days. At the time, Nicklaus was 24, Player 27 and Palmer was the old man of the group at 34. Today, they’re 75, 79 and 85 and are the honorary starters at the Masters.

The matches were great and they gave the viewing audience an insight into the personalities of the three, something you’d never get watching what little golf was on television back then, primarily the majors.

Palmer, Player and Nicklaus became household names world-wide and they went on to prosper off the course as a result.

Now, some 50 years later, we have Spieth, McIlroy and Day. They are ranked 1, 2 and 3 respectively in the Official World Golf Rankings. Fifty years ago, there were no such rankings.

McIlroy has three major championships, Spieth has two and Day has just collected his first but there’s nothing to indicate that there won’t be more to come for all three.

Which begs the question: Are these three “kids” the next Palmer, Player and Nicklaus?

All three have great reputations within the game. They are outgoing and they treat the fans well. They are friendly amongst each other and overall, they are regarded as the “good guys” of the PGA Tour, unlike a former world’s No. 1 who dominated the scene in the early 2000s.

It is highly unlikely that there will ever be another series like the old Big Three Golf. Time and tight schedules these days wouldn’t allow these young stars to spend that much time together.

But that doesn’t mean that we won’t be getting a full dose of them.

They are compelling, they are brilliant shot makers and each has an artistry all his own in the heat of the battle.

They next Big Three?

Possibly.

The next big things in golf?

Certainly.