Tiger Ror can get louder

RORY McILROY last night claimed it was far too soon to start talking about him as a fierce rival to Tiger Woods.

But Woods immediately responded by saying he regarded McIlroy as his biggest rival, as the standard-bearer of the new generation.
Woods, 37, deposed the 23 year old Ulsterman as world No 1 with back-to- back victories in the build-up to Augusta, and they seem poised for a real clash of the generations.
But McIlroy, who re-ignited his own Masters hopes by finishing runner- up at the Valero Texas open, refuses to be drawn into viewing this week as a head-to-head duel.
He said: “I don’t see myself a rival to Tiger or to anyone. Tiger obviously has been on tour for 12 more years than me or something like that.
“So when you speak of rivals, you tend to think of players who have had similar success. He’s got 77 PGA Tour events, I’ve got six. He’s got 14 Majors, I’ve got two.
“If I saw myself a rival to Tiger, I wouldn’t really be doing him much justice.”
But Woods said McIlroy was doing himself an injustice. He explained: “I’ ve had plenty of rivalries through my career, with David Duval, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh.
“And Rory is the guy who is leading the new generation forward. So yeah, I definitely see him as a rival.”