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Golf misses Tiger, but for how long?

The Tiger Woods fist pump is still missing from the game © PA Photos

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Scanning through the local Washington DC talk radio stations on the way to Congressional on Friday morning, there were two names that dominated the airwaves.

The first was Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland's spaniel-haired golfing prodigy and the leader of this 111th US Open after a near faultless opening round of 65 on day one.

The second was a man who isn't even playing, and who despite sliding to No. 15 in the world and not having won a tournament for a year and half, is still the biggest draw in golf.

Love him or loathe him, there's no question the absence of Tiger Woods detracts from the majesty of the majors.

Even the biggest Tiger cynics will feel his absence this week. You might not miss him today, or even tomorrow, but on Sunday afternoon there will be a Tiger-shaped hole in your soul.

For 15 years Tiger's tale has been the leading narrative in this grand old game. We've watched him win 14 majors, and been there or thereabouts on blockbuster Sunday afternoons more often than not.

Thirty-five times he's finished in the top 10 on golf's biggest stage - a quite remarkable ode to his stunningly consistent genius. Even at his lowest ebb, rocked by personal scandal or suffocated by injury, he's managed to claw his way into contention.

The red shirt, the fist pump, the snarling desire that drives his every hour. Woods is the most iconic thing in golf, and is likely to remain that one until the day he hangs up his clubs - and probably beyond.

"Golf needs Tiger Woods. He's been golf for the last 15 years," said Graeme McDowell, on the eve of his US Open defence this week. "To not have one of the greatest players that have ever lived is massive."

But that's not to say the sport couldn't survive if Woods never truly returned to the player he once was. There's a contingency plan in place, and it rests on the fortunes of a bold new generation.

McIlroy is their standard bearer. The 22-year-old was already a star in America before his Masters meltdown, and the graciousness he showed in the aftermath only endeared him further.

If McIlroy is the next Woods, then perhaps Rickie Fowler could be his Phil Mickelson. The man they call "the Jonas brother of golf" is growing as a player and a personality with every tournament, and already attracts a devoted following wherever he goes.

There are more besides. Matteo Manassero, Ryo Ishikawa, Jason Day and Peter Uihlein are among the growing number of rising young stars with the potential to enthrall us for the next two decades.

Soon enough their time will come, and perhaps the moment one of them steps up and wins a major, will be a defining one in our relationship with the man who has 14.

There are small signs things are moving on. At the recent Wells Fargo Championship I asked the media officer if Tiger's withdrawal had affected the turnout in the press tent.

"It used to be that Tiger not playing would mean a lot of the sports writers wouldn't show up," he said. "But this week not a single one of them pulled out."

For now, golf still feels the absence of Tiger Woods. But it won't be that way forever, and the longer he stays away, the better we'll cope without him.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.