LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As a kid, Rory McIlroy always emulated Tiger Woods.
Now McIlroy is playing like him, and he, too, appears to be on the cusp of dominating the game as Woods once did.
A win at this week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, which begins Thursday, will put McIlroy on a Woods-like roll of dominance. It would be his second consecutive major championship win and fourth of his career at age 25. It would his third consecutive victory overall.
It also would further cement his hold on the world No. 1 ranking, which he just regained with his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational win on Sunday.
“The game feels in really good shape, obviously, and [I’m] coming in here with a lot of confidence,’’ McIlroy said Tuesday. “And historically, the PGA Championship has probably been my best major.’’
Uh-oh for the rest of the field.
Indeed, McIlroy has played in five career PGA Championships and finished in a tie for third in his first two, won in 2012 at Kiawah Island and tied for eighth last year.
“Hopefully,’’ the hottest player in the world said, “I can continue that trend this week.’’
The McIlroy narrative has changed dramatically over the last 18 months — from his struggles with new Nike equipment to his legal battle with his former management company to his broken engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.
Just last month, all the talk about McIlroy’s game was centered around his propensity to follow a low opening round with a second-round Friday clunker.
The problem was dubbed “freaky Fridays’’ — until McIlroy backed up his opening-round 66 with a second-round 66 at Hoylake. Last week at Firestone, he followed his opening-round 69 with a 64.
McIlroy, highly perceptive with terrific perspective for such a young player, knows how quickly it all can change, which is why he’s reticent about buying into predictions he is ushering in some kind of “new era’’ post-Woods dominance.
“Of course, I’ve heard it and I’ve read it,’’ McIlroy said. “Sometimes I feel that people are too quick to jump to conclusions and jump on the bandwagon and jump on certain things. I’ve had a great run of golf and I’ve played well over the past few months.
“I said at the start of the year that golf was looking for someone to put their hand up and sort of become one of the dominant players in the game. I felt like I had the ability to do that, and it’s just nice to be able to win a few tournaments and get back to where I feel like I should be, which is near the top of the world rankings and competing in majors and winning golf tournaments.
“I’m not necessarily sure you can call that an era or the start of an era, but I’m just really happy with where my golf game is at the minute and I just want to try and continue that for as long as possible. All I can do is try not to read too much of the stuff that’s being written, because if you read everything that was being written, I’d turn up at the first tee on Thursday thinking I’d already won the tournament.’’
There are, however, those who recognize McIlroy is now the man to beat.
“As long as he continues to keep playing to his strength, which is driving the ball, he’s going to be making birdies and winning golf tournaments,’’ Phil Mickelson said. “He’s just a very good talent. We’ve been waiting a year, year and a half now for it to turn and it’s really turned for him and now everything is clicking and firing and he’s tough to beat.’’