Rozner: PGA can stop looking for next Tiger

With the Masters just a week away, the conversation in golf circles will turn soon to the most boring links question imaginable:

Is Dustin Johnson the next Tiger Woods?

Of course, the answer is no. There will never be another Tiger Woods, as recently displayed by the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, all given the impossible task of living up to such a title.

"It's hard to win once a year for most people. He won at least five tournaments 10 times," McIlroy told Golf Channel last year. "It was him and everyone else. It won't happen again."

No one has ever dominated the game over a 10-year span the way Woods did in his prime, putting so much distance between himself and the field that it was an upset when he didn't win.

There has never been anything like him, and there will never again be anything like him.

Right now, Johnson is unquestionably the best player in the world and he's on fire, having won his last three starts.

From a physical standpoint, now that his short game is matching his length, Johnson is the closest thing to Woods there's ever been in terms of sheer physical dominance, hole to hole.

The intimidation is palpable. Johnson hits it farther than everyone else, and now his wedge game - and putting - is among the best in the game.

Frightening.

But just as a matter of perspective, Johnson has 15 PGA Tour wins at the age of 32. Woods had 67 at the same age.

Johnson is now a great player, having exorcised his major championship demons at Oakmont last June, but he will never be Woods.

At the same time, until Woods is healthy enough to play again - which may never happen - the conversation should be about the current crop of brilliant players, and not about the 14-time major winner.

It's unfair to the field, which is now as deep as it has ever been.

There are 50 players who have a legitimate chance to win when they tee it up weekly, and young players joining the Tour today out of college have no fear, because there is no Woods to scare them.

Witness 22-year-old Jon Rahm, the ASU product from Spain who was the low amateur at the U.S. Open a year ago, finishing T-23 (+7) and just 2 shots behind Johnson the final three days of the championship, after an opening-round 76.

His coach at ASU was Tim Mickelson - Phil's brother - who saw the potential and left coaching last summer to become Rahm's agent. Veteran caddie Adam Hayes is now on the bag for Rahm, an absolute monster in training.

Rahm turned pro after the 2016 U.S. Open and after nine events in 2017, he's moved all the way up to No. 14 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

He's made all nine cuts, won at Torrey Pines with an eagle on 18, was fifth at Pebble and finished third at the WGC in Mexico a few weeks ago, seeing most of these courses for the first time.

Still relatively unknown, Rahm jumped from 66-1 to win the Masters to 18-1 after his performance at the Match Play in Austin over the weekend.

Eight of the top 10 seeds were gone by Friday night, but Rahm - the No. 32 seed - bludgeoned his first six opponents, winning 3 and 2, 2 and 1, 6 and 4, 6 and 4, 7 and 5, and 3 and 2, before meeting top seed Johnson in the final match.

The youngster missed some relatively short putts on the front, perhaps showing some nerves, and entering the back down 5 to the hottest player on the planet, Rahm then showed his nerve.

He fought all the way back to down 1 going to the par-4 18th. Needing to win the hole, Rahm drove it through the green and far past the hole measured at 356 yards, while Johnson hit iron off the tee.

Johnson missed the green a hair short and Rahm had a tricky chip downhill and very fast with a nasty break. But his scrambling had been brilliant all week, and a bird on 18 would have meant extra holes.

In his backswing, however, a Porta-Potty door slammed shut and Rahm came up well short. The players matched pars and Johnson escaped with a 1-up victory.

Down the stretch Rahm again showed no fear of the No. 1 player in the world, and announced with his play that he intends to be a factor at the majors this year, and for many years to come.

He is one of so very many capable of winning a major this year. Johnson, Rahm, McIlroy, Day, Spieth, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Rickie Fowler, Thomas Pieters, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Brooks Koepka and Branden Grace, to name just a dozen.

You could easily go three times that many, and lefties Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson - who love Augusta - both played well in Austin over the weekend.

The game has never been in better shape and never more loaded with talent.

There's no reason to keep searching for the next Tiger Woods.

Besides, it's a fool's errand.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.