Congratulations to Rory McIlroy on his victory at the PGA Championship. The play throughout the day on Sunday was riveting, as the golfers who could stay and play in the kind of soggy conditions they faced at Valhalla in Louisville quickly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. It was great television drama, and fooey to those casual golf fans who wouldn’t have turned in because old beyond his years and broken-down Tiger Woods wasn’t in contention. I have only three words of advice to those fans:

Get the #$@!% over it.

What happened on Sunday heralded a new dawn and a new era in professional golf. Oh sure, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson did their best to compete – heck, a couple of bounces or made putts either way, and we’d be talking a whole new bag. But they didn’t, and Rory and Rickie Fowler showed golf fans that the page has turned for a new generation of golfer.

If there was a pivotal moment in the tournament, it was Rory’s 3-wood shot on #10 – even he admitted he got lucky when he yanked it lower and more left than he wanted to, but good players get the good breaks, and that was the shot that made the tournament. And the fact he was able to convert the putt in a major tells you dude has got more than what it takes. You see, he understands the moment, and like what Roy McAvoy once said, either you define the moment or the moment defines you. It doesn’t mean, of course, that Phil or Tiger won’t win the occasional major and get the media all abuzz over whether Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 majors is secure, but it’s hard not to view this weekend’s PGA through the lens of Father Time and see who is on the ascent and who is on the descent.

Me? I think it’s fabulous. I’m sick of the dumb media’s focus on everything Tiger, and the sooner they get over their obsession the better it will be for everyone.

It’s going to be an absolute circus around Rory come next April at Augusta. It will be interesting to see how he handles it with all the media attention that goes with being the hottest golfer on the planet going forward. I have a sense that, a year from now, we’ll have a very good idea if Rory McIlroy can withstand all the pressure that’s about to come down on him. Until then, I hope he just enjoys being the winner of the PGA. He certainly earned it.