Will golf's new 'Big Three' have a major impact?

OAKMONT, Pa. - Once upon a time, golf had a "Big Three." And it was, well, historically significant.

Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. Among them, they won 34 majors. And when "The King" got too old, Lee Trevino assumed the role of third musketeer. He would add six majors, one shy of Arnie. Later, Tom Watson came along and got eight more. Some haul, for an extended era.

When Tiger Woods ruled the food chain, his only real rival was chasing the Nicklaus legacy. It's a battle that now looks unwinnable. Yet, for over a decade, the story line consumed the game. And that was obviously great stuff in its own right, though it could have been even better had Phil Mickelson been in the last group with him on Sunday at a few majors.

For whatever reasons, that never happened. Life went on. It usually does.

These days, there's a millennial trifecta sitting atop the charts. And it's, well, pretty stout, too. Even if their reign might be just getting underway.

Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. They're the top three in the world rankings. Each has been No. 1 at some point. They've won five of the previous seven majors. And at least one of them was in position to win the other two. Spieth, who won two of them, could have won the last five himself. And McIlroy missed the British Open last year as the defending champion after he suffered that goofy ankle injury playing soccer. Day has seven top-fives in majors since 2011, more than anyone in that span. He's the oldest, at 28, one year older than McIlroy. Spieth is only 22. Which means they could be trying to beat one another for quite a while.

Or maybe not. Golf can be that way sometimes. You think you have it all figured out and the next great thing turns into Sergio Garcia. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But it's not the same.

Maybe this three-headed competition is exactly what the sport needs in this post-Tiger existence.

"I feel very confident in my game right now," Spieth said.

You think he would get all fragile on us just because he blew that three-shot lead on the back nine at the Masters two months ago? Guess you weren't watching him win at Colonial three weeks back. Of course, that was merely a minor. There is a difference.

He's the defending champion this week, as the second major of the season returns to Oakmont Country Club for a record ninth time. McIlory won the U.S. Open in 2011, by a record eight shots at Congressional. Day finished second that year and again two years later, then was fourth in 2014.

That doesn't mean that one of them will win, or that they'll all be there on the back nine Sunday. It does suggest that as an entry they're the pretournament chalk. We could have to get used to that. It would not be a bad thing.

Last year at Chambers Bay, where McIlroy made a late run before settling for a tie for ninth, Day was the 54-hole co-leader despite the fact he played the third round battling vertigo. Think about that. He left a 15-foot putt inches short on the 72nd hole at the British Open to miss the playoff by one. Then he won the PGA Championship, by three over Spieth, who'd also missed the playoff at St. Andrews a month earlier when his last putt barely slid by the left side of the cup.

If nothing else, they always seem to be lurking. And everyone else knows it. Just like back in the day.

"You can have all the tools, but if you don't really believe in yourself, somewhere or another you're going to sabotage yourself," said Day, who played a practice round Tuesday with Chris Crawford, the Drexel senior from Bensalem who made it through qualifiying to get into his first professional major. "You have to keep putting yourself there. I think the biggest thing for me was to understand I could win multiple times in a season, not just once. I'm hoping to try and keep that level of play going forward.

"Golf is a very hard game. It's all you (out there). We got used to seeing Tiger do it so easy. We forgot how hard it is to win a golf tournament . . . I'm No. 1. There's a lot of pressure. But it's a good pressure to have. It's the kind of pressure you've got to love.

"I want it right now, more than anything in the world. I'm not saying other players don't want it as much as me. I don't think that's anything that separates me. Sooner or later, my priority will change and unfortunately, it just happens that way. Right now, the 10 times I've won is not enough. I need to win more."

Especially when it's one of the four career-definers. Consider it a warning. Maybe they can keep pushing one another to bigger things. But you never know how long of a shelf life anyone has, no matter how high the possibilities appear to be in the present. All three could turn out to be all-timers. Or life could get eventually in the way. It often does.

That's why we should appreciate this confluence for all it's worth, for as long as it's destined to continue. Particularly since it doesn't seem as if Tiger is about to resurrect himself anytime soon.

It's not Arnie, Jack and Gary in their prime. But what was?

These new guys have to forge a lasting identity. And that takes awhile. It's no longer a steady diet of Tiger. It's become a usual suspect much of the time. As alternative scenarios go, it could have played out a whole lot worse. There's no telling exactly where they could take us. At least until the next wannabe pops into the equation. And there's always another one of them somewhere.

In the meantime . . .

"I feel about as prepared as I can be coming in," McIlroy said. "No. 1 is all about winning trophies. I want to win every time I tee it up. I know what I have to do to give myself a chance to win.

"I expect the more established players to do well this week, the ones who are up there in the world rankings."

It's only bad news to the rest of the field.

@mikekerndn