Back in the days you had the “Big Three” of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player.

(I would argue the late Billy Casper should have been included to make it a “Big Four”, but I digress.)

Arnie, Jack, and Gary – three very different golfers and personalities, yet they somehow found a way to capture the media’s fascination in a way that linked each of them together and set them apart from their contemporaries.

Watching the Masters coverage on Thursday I was struck by the thought that we could – could – be witnessing the dawn of a new “Big Three” – three golfers equally different in their games, approaches, and personalities; each young enough to offer the promise of major tournament battles for the next decade or more.

I’m talking about Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, and Jason Day.

Think about it: you’ve got Rory, who, like Arnie, has a bit of the swashbuckler and showman in him, but also, like Arnie, has a drive to not just win but win in style. Oh sure, he likes to try and cover it up with an “aw shucks” kind of demeanor but you can see it in the way he attacks golf courses with his incredible length and deft touch. Then you have Jordan Spieth: like Jack Nicklaus he’s far beyond his years in terms of how he approaches the game. While unlike Jack he’s not going to over-power the field, you can already see evidence of how he’s capable of out-thinking them. And then you have Jason Day, a world traveler like Gary Player with whom he shares the same kind of genuine joy and enthusiasm for the game that should make him a fan favorite for years to come.

What do these three have in common besides their obvious talents and that they’re all still in their early twenties? The fact that each has the “it” factor: that quality that makes you stop whatever it is you are doing whenever you see them on the TV.

Only time will tell whether these potential “Big Three” find a way to connect with each other and through golf fans in a way that will set them apart from their peers, but judging from their body of work to date and how each approaches their craft I don’t see it as an impossibility by any means. Rory’s already got a few majors under his belt – when (not if) Spieth and Day start winning their share of them you can easily see the prospect of a new “Big Three” that will keep golf viewers coming back for more long after the Tigers and Phils have turned their respective lights off.