Like an ocean tide, the court lifted Nadal higher toward who knows where. His defeat took on the grandeur of a victory that outstripped the baser limitation of our terminal obsession with "winning."
McIlroy is undoubtedly the light at the end of the Tiger tunnel. But, McIlroy is not here to be Tiger. He's here to show that golf is alive and well, and that it isn't just surviving without Tiger winning every tournament -- it's better.