The PGA Tour needs a crowded leaderboard more than a dominant player

Rory McIlroy told media at the Shell Houston Open almost six months ago: "It’s almost like golf is waiting for someone to stamp their authority on the game and be that dominant player."

A week later at the Masters, McIlroy almost took out then-World No. 1 golfer Adam Scott with an errant drive off the fourth tee. It was a symbolic mishit. McIlroy finished tied for eighth at Augusta and while, at the time, he hadn't fulfilled the statement he made a week prior, he needed only three weeks between July and August to sign himself up for the task of golf's dominant leader. He wasn't the only one with a pen in his hand, though.

Golf's Brightest Shine in 2014

Jim Furyk had one of the best seasons on tour, finishing runner-up four times and carding 11 top-10 finishes. He continually either defended a lead or chased one, and while he never found himself in the winner's circle, Furyk made 21 of 21 cuts, finished fourth in FedEx Cup points, and finished an event over-par only five times. He was one of the men to beat every weekend.

Furyk was consistent, but it was a kid in orange who made history at major tournaments. Rickie Fowler was the first player to finish in the top five at all four majors without winning one in the modern era. He also boasted the lowest score of all 16 rounds combined.

Golf will always have likeable players like the Furyks and Matt Kuchars, fan favorites who are consistently on the leaderboard, known for their steady play. But it's the new crop making their way to the top ranks who will change the game.

Atypical Golfers

Fowler used to ride motocross competitively and still partakes in the sport recreationally. He's not your typical golfer, but that's what is changing golf for the better. McIlroy chugged a glass of champagne after his win at The Open at Royal Liverpool, like any 25-year-old would. The two are appealing to the next generation of golf fans; they're young, and supremely talented at a sport generally thought to be stuffy, boring, and for the privileged. Their dominant play in tandem with a handful of others is the second major shift in the sport - the first began with a kid who wanted to be the best. 

Tiger Woods transformed golf into a sport. Golfers were no longer privileged men making a living off a hobby, swinging the irons, out for a stroll. Woods gave the game a gift greater than setting records - he gave the sport athletes. Those athletes are now winning majors, or coming heartbreakingly close.

McIlroy idolized Woods as a child in Holywood, Northern Ireland. And after a terrific season, his name is mentioned alongside Woods', and even Jack Nicklaus'. McIlroy, at 25 and three months, has four major titles after winning The Open and PGA Championship this season, as many as Nicklaus did at 25. Woods won his fourth at 24 and seven months. 

After finding his stride, McIlroy elbowed the rest out of the way, signing himself up as the man to beat. He wanted to be the one everyone chased on not only Sunday, but Thursday through Saturday. He wanted to look down and wave to the guys taking to the course. Why? "That’s what people like to see," he said.

There Won't Be Another Tiger

McIlroy isn't the next Woods. Another Tiger isn't coming. There will never be another that takes the tour by storm the way Tiger did; the game is far too competitive now. There is no edge one can acquire that will separate him from the field the way Woods' dedication to fitness separated him in 1997.

But the last three events of the season, dominated by four-year tour pro Billy Horschel, 27, showed that McIlroy's competition is up to the task. Horschel played well all season and rewarded himself with one last push, finishing tied for second at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and winning the BMW Championship, Tour Championship, and the FedEx Cup. He cleaned up and is one of many that seems poised to challenge McIlroy, Fowler, and Furyk next year. 

The field never thinned out; there has never been less elbow room on the leaderboard at any given event. That's what people like to see.