McIlroy urging Woods to help manufacture singles shootout

Arguably the greatest player of all time in a head-to-head contest with the heir apparent – now that is a mouthwatering contest.

In Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods finally appears to have met the match he never really faced in his pomp.

Many tried, but sadly, none of them could pierce the aura of invinciblity that Woods once exuded.

David Duval, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood all stood toe-to-toe at one time or another with Woods, who pulverised them into submission.

Granted, Woods is not the force he once was, but after three lean years following injuries and the public soap opera of his disintegrating private life, he has come closer than ever in 2012 to rediscovering his remarkable powers of concentration and dedication and that unflappable will to win.

After the low of dropping out of the world’s top 50 in 2011, he has fought his way back up to second in the rankings.

The man keeping him out of top spot is, of course, McIlroy.

After the run the Ulsterman has had, three wins in four tournaments in the United States before last night, including a second major championship in a Woods-esque procession, he looks well-suited to the title of best in the world.

It is all a far cry from the early summer when he missed three cuts in four tournaments, including one at the Olympic Club in June in the defence of his US Open crown.

No one is talking about his girlfriend being a distraction now he is winning again.

At Crooked Stick recently, he was paired with Woods and left him trailing in his wake as he won the tournament.

How McIlroy would love to beat the best in matchplay as well as strokeplay.

He has already said in the build-up to the 39th Ryder Cup at Medinah that he may encourage Woods to attempt to engineer a singles match-up between the two, by persuading their respective captains, Jose Maria Olazabal and Davis Love III, to put them out against each other.

Such an admission sums up the fearless nature of McIlroy.

During their tussle for the $10m FedEx Cup bonus in the dog days of summer, McIlroy and Woods have grown close, with the latter even advising the former on how to live life in the spotlight of being the most bankable man in the business.

Woods remains the biggest box office draw in golf, despite not having won a major for four years.

But McIlroy already looks well-equipped, both talent wise and perhaps more so in the public image department, to take over when Woods either achieves his stated goal of overhauling Jack Nicklaus’s 18 major championships, or realises such an astonishing number is beyond him.

The possibility of them duelling at singles or even in fourballs or foursomes matches, will offer a fascinating subplot to what will be an absorbing Ryder Cup.

Chances are they will meet on the opening two days given that both men will no doubt be used in every series by their captains.

But despite their status as the world’s best two players, they share another surprising quality.

Neither will be looked upon as the on-course leader of their team. They have the potential to lead by example with their play, but if Olazabal needs a trusty lieutenant at Medinah he has a number of options, most notably Westwood, Donald and Sergio Garcia.

Similarly Love has Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Steve Stricker to call upon.

For Woods, no matter the strength of his individual tournament record, has never shown his best form at a Ryder Cup.

Indeed, in his six appearances, he has been on the overall winning team only once, at Brookline in 1999.

Four years ago he was undergoing rehabilitation after knee surgery as the United States won at Valhalla.

He has often had a love-hate relationship with the team event. In 2002 he stated he would rather win a World Golf Championship for the money on offer.

Two years later he turned questions about his Ryder Cup pedigree into an interrogation of his media inquisitors.

“How many majors did Jack Nicklaus win and what was his Ryder Cup record?” he asked.

Nicklaus won 18 majors, but few can so easily recall that he had 17 wins, three halves (including the famous one he sportingly ceded to Tony Jacklin in 1969 that meant the contest ended in a tie) and eight defeats in 28 matches – a success rate of 66 per cent.

Woods has a success rate of 48 per cent; 13 wins, two halves and 14 defeats. Hardly a record to get the opposition quaking in their boots, but at Celtic Manor, there were signs that Woods was at least embracing the team dynamic that can so often be the difference between a win and a half – or a half and a defeat.

That is where the importance of the playing partners will come in over the opening two days for the world’s best two golfers.

By Woods’s side is likely to be Stricker, one of the steadiest men on the American team. He is a tenacious match player and a deadly putter. At Celtic Manor they won twice together.

McIlroy’s running mate will be McDowell, who is coming off a terrific summer that was missing only a victory.

The two Ulstermen were the most energetic of pairings two years ago at Celtic Manor, with McDowell the man who stood over the decisive putt and drained it.

As well as playing as sublimely again, he may need to fulfil the role of calming influence over McIlroy, who on his Ryder Cup debut two years ago let his emotions get the better of him.

There was one instance when he celebrated a McDowell tee shot in a foursomes match that went to within six foot of the pin as if it was good enough for the win, then missed the putt to clinch the hole.

McDowell, playing in only his third Ryder Cup, has experienced the full range of emotions this most exacting of formats can throw up, having endured the pain of defeat at Valhalla and the ultimate high at Celtic Manor.

There could also be a question about McIlroy’s stamina, with memories of Padraig Harrington four years ago still fresh. At Valhalla, the Irishman was a shell of the man who in the preceding two months had won the Open and US PGA.

But McIlroy is young and fearless. He fell in love with Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and the energy he brings is reminscent of a young Seve Ballesteros.

A tussle between the best two players in the world may result in Woods finally falling in love with the Ryder Cup.