As my colleague Charlie Miller has continued to unveil his elite quartets for each major league baseball franchise, it got me to thinking: Who is on golf’s Mount Rushmore?

Arnold Palmer received the Congressional Gold Medal this week as that body's "highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions." Arnie is clearly one member of this elite foursome, as is Jack Nicklaus, who was also on hand for the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda.

After back-to-back wins at the Deutsche Bank and BMW Championships, 23-year-old Rory McIlroy is closing in on a FedExCup title. The accompanying $10 million would buy world-class WAG Caroline Wozniacki a lot of bling, but I'm more concerned about Rory's place in history should he close the deal at the Tour Championship next week.

The question before us: Is McIlroy the greatest 23-year-old golfer in history? There are only three clear candidates — Rory, Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus — so let's take them one by one and let their numbers speak for themselves.

The Case for Rory McIlroy
Majors Won: 2
Combined Margin: 16
Major Top 5s: 5
Major Top 10s: 6
PGA Tour Wins: 6
Worldwide Wins: 9

Notes
• He's the youngest PGA Champion (23 years, three months) since the tournament moved to stroke play in 1958, beating Jack Nicklaus' record.
• His 8-shot margin of victory at the PGA broke Nicklaus' record 7-shot margin at the 1980 PGA.
• McIlroy is the second-youngest player to win two majors. Nicklaus was one month younger when he won his second; Tiger was four months older.
• His 8-shot win at the PGA reprised his 8-shot demolition of the U.S. Open field in 2011. He's the first player to earn his first two major victories in such dominant fashion.
• He's halfway to a career Grand Slam, and had he avoided a Sunday back-nine meltdown at the 2011 Masters, we'd be talking about him in the reverent tones once reserved for Tiger at his apex.

The Case for Tiger Woods (through age 23 season)
Majors Won: 2
Combined Margin: 13
Major Top 5s: 4
Major Top 10s: 6
PGA Tour Wins: 15
Worldwide Wins: 17

Notes
• Tiger also won an unprecedented three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles (1994-96), which at one time were considered majors.
• Tiger was the 1996 NCAA champion while at Stanford.
• As low amateur at the 1996 British Open, he tied a record with an amateur aggregate score of 281.
• He was PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1997 and 1999.

The Case for Jack Nicklaus (through age 23 season)
Majors Won: 3
Margin: 3 (plus playoff)
Major Top 5s: 7
Major Top 10s: 8
PGA Tour Wins: 8
Worldwide Wins: 11

Notes
• Nicklaus was a two-time U.S. Amateur Champion (1959, 1961).
• He won the NCAA title at Ohio State in 1961.
• Nicklaus won 27 events in the Ohio area from ages 10-17, many against professionals.
• His first professional win came in the 1962 U.S. Open, where he beat Arnold Palmer on Palmer's home turf at Oakmont with a partisan crowd rooting against him. At 22, he was the youngest U.S. Open winner since Bobby Jones in 1923.

The Verdict
Nicklaus was the only three-time major winner at age 23, and he took down the great Arnold Palmer when the King was at his peak. McIlroy set new standards of dominance in winning his first two majors by a combined 16 strokes, and he's established himself as the clear No. 1 player in the world. Plus, he doesn't turn 24 until next May, giving him time to add to his ledger. But for dramatic success combined with sheer impact, Woods is the choice. His 12-stroke breakthrough win at the 1997 Masters remains one of golf's greatest achievements, and his 17 worldwide wins at such a tender age remain unmatched. And that's without mentioning the broader significance of his status as the first major champion of color, a development that tapped a new market for the game.

Others Worth Mentioning

• I can't leave Seve Ballesteros out of this discussion. By the time he turned 24, Seve had two majors under his belt — the 1979 British Open and 1980 Masters — as well as 12 other wins in Europe and the 1978 Greensboro title on the PGA Tour. I only omit him from inclusion with Rory, Tiger and Jack because of the level of competition on the European Tour at the time; it wasn't what it is today. Plus, he had only one top 10 in a major aside from his two wins, leaving him well behind the top three.

• At age 23, Bobby Jones had won a U.S. Open and two U.S. Amateurs, when they were true majors. His level of competition excludes him from consideration, though.

• By the time he turned 24, Phil Mickelson was a four-time winner on Tour, including a rare win as an amateur (Tucson, 1991). He remains the last amateur to win on the PGA Tour. He's probably the greatest NCAA golfer in history, winning three individual NCAA championships and earning All-America honors all four years at Arizona State. He also won the U.S. Amateur in 1990, joining Woods and Nicklaus in winning the NCAA-U.S. Amateur double in the same season. But his success in majors would come later.

• At age 21, Ben Crenshaw became the second player in Tour history to win the first event he entered. He was a three-time NCAA champion at Texas.
 

It's Round 3 of the battle for the FedExCup. Fresh off scorching the TPC Boston layout this past weekend, the best players in the world converge on Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., for the BMW Championship. Here are the top 5 in FedExCup points through the Deutsche Bank Championship:

Player                            Points Behind
1. Rory McIlroy                     --
2. Nick Watney                   1,331
3. Tiger Woods                   1,382
4. Brandt Snedeker             1,605
5. Louis Oosthuizen            1,890

What They're Saying on the eve of the BMW:

Rory McIlroy
On being paired with Tiger Woods at the Deutsche Bank: "I think it definitely creates some more interest for the fans and for golf in general.  I don't see any challenge in it.  I mean, I think it's just good fun.  It's good fun to be out there and have such an atmosphere and such a buzz around a grouping like that, and it's just nice to be a part of."

On being in "the zone": "I think the most important thing when that does happen, you have to realize it's happening and just get out of your own way and just completely just play one shot at a time.  Obviously you're hitting the ball well, you're just trying to hit it in the fairway, hit it on the green, hole the putt, go to the next hole, do it all over again.  That's what you're trying to do.
"There's some weeks where golf does seem as simple as that, and when you're on like that, it's obviously a great feeling.  It's very difficult to play like that all the time, and that's why it's the great players, they learn to win when they're not playing their best.  That's something, I've said this before, that I still feel like I'm learning to do.  I think I sort of did that for a little bit of last week.  I struggled to close out the tournament, but a couple of crucial up‑and‑downs on the way in, which helped, and that's what the great players do; they find a way."

Tiger Woods
On facing personal and professional challenges: "I think it's put a different perspective on things.  Losing a parent and having the birth of two kids put things in better perspective for me.  The wins are fantastic, but the losses aren't what they used to be, because I get to talk to my kids at night.  It makes things‑‑ it puts things in a proper perspective, for sure."

On being golf's first $100 million man: "Well, it just means that I've come along at the right time.  We've had purse increases.  We've had a lot of things go our way.  I've won some tournaments, yes, but as I said last week, Sam Snead won more tournaments than I did, and obviously he didn't make the money that I did, just because it was a different era.  I happened to come along at the right time when TV was booming and our commissioner did some fantastic deals with TV, and our purses just leapt by a lot. I think that all that said, I'm not opposed to it; put it that way."

On the state of his game: "I'm certainly hitting it further and straighter.  I don't curve the ball as much as I used to.  Granted, it's a function of the golf ball just not moving as much, but also I think where I'm coming from, I just don't arc it, I don't come as far from the inside like I used to.  With that being said, my shot pattern is much tighter now.
"And the only thing I really struggle with is my aim, is aiming closer to the middle of the fairway or closer to flags because I'm used to shaping it so much either way.  That's something that's taken me a little while to get accustomed to because I've done it for so long.  It's just an adjustment that I've had to make gradually over time."

Phil Mickelson
On the state of his game: "I think the last three or four months where my game has just been a little south, I was just kind of searching for something different.  I've been trying to piece my game back together.  Finally my irons came back first.  I started hitting a lot of good iron shots.  My driver has now come around where I'm hitting it really well off the tee.  And the last thing was putting, and I feel really good with it.  I feel like the touch is there and it's a very stress‑free way to putt because the ball is starting on line."

On whether Tiger Woods will win more majors: "Oh, yeah, unfortunately. His game looks tremendous."

Defending Champion Justin Rose
"I think low scores for sure.  Any time you give us soft greens, which they are obviously due to the weather, I think when you have soft greens certainly the first couple rounds, and the way things go in a tournament, how long, how difficult a golf course, if it's soft, guys tend to go low."
 

Round One of the FedExCup playoffs is in the books, and now we turn our attention to the PGA Tour's unique Friday-Monday event, the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, which will wrap up on Labor Day afternoon, weather permitting.

Last week's winner Nick Watney and defending champion Webb Simpson join Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and the usual suspects as players jockey for FedExCup position with an eye on another Cup, the one with the name "Ryder" on it. While the European team is set, U.S. captain Davis Love still has time to make his four at-large selections for the American squad, so Brandt Snedeker, Dustin Johnson and others will be doing their best to impress DL3.

Here's a sample of what players are saying on the eve of the Deutsche Bank:

• Tiger Woods
"It feels good to be back (at TPC Boston). Unfortunately last year I didn't make the Playoffs at all and missed out on four big events. It feels good to at least have played well enough this year to basically secure a spot all the way through to East Lake (site of the Tour Championship). Looking forward to this week.  The golf course is in absolute perfect shape.  I mean, it's awesome right now.  Sure, it'll dry out a little bit come the rest of the week and get a little bit faster and more difficult.

On the perception that he's been inconsistent: "Well, it's just you can't really look at it as real bad going on this year. At the time, most of the year, I was leading the Money List, I was No. 1 in FedExCup points and I won three times, so it's not like it's been that bad.  It's just a couple rounds here and there or it's an up‑and‑down here and there or it's making one putt, which is not good.  So that's a good thing."

On today's longer hitters: "The game has certainly changed.  When I came our here in '96 and '97 I was long, and I averaged 296.  I think there's like 30‑some‑odd guys who are averaging over 300.  So it's a totally different game now.
"You know, the bigger hitters can hit the ball 320 in the air.  I don't really have that.  I can carry it 300, but that's a different gear.  They're taller, they're bigger, and most of the longer guys are 6'3".  When I was coming out here, if you were six foot you were pretty much average height, big height.  Look at Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Watson, they're all short compared to the big guys now, and they were long hitters at the time for their era.  But these guys are just bigger. I certainly can't carry the ball that far, but I'm still one of the longer ones but not the longest by any stretch of the imagination."

• Rory McIlroy
On majors: "I never grew up chasing records or trying to put a certain number on it.  I've got my second major, and there's going to be a lot of people getting sick of this phrase, but I got my second, and I'm looking for my third.  Hopefully it's not too long before I get my third, and then when I get my third, I want to get my fourth.  That's the way I'm approaching it.  I don't want to put any number on it because if I just throw a random number out there and I don't get to it, I don't want me to be disappointed with a career that's actually very good or everyone else to feel like I haven't lived up to expectations.
"I have no set number.  I'm very happy that I've won two majors, and I want to get that third one.  But whenever it comes, it comes."

On the Ryder Cup: "I think the big thing about the Ryder Cup is you have to be a good team member.  You can't be afraid to voice your opinion.  If you really feel strongly about something in the team room, you've got to stand up and speak.  And then it's just being confident, self‑belief, having a good attitude, because that's what the Ryder Cup is all about.  Match play is about having the right attitude going in and being confident."

• Nick Watney
On whether a win this week would secure a Ryder Cup spot: "Well, if I were to win this week, I guess — I've heard (Love) said he's looking for a hot player, and I would have to classify myself as a hot player if I were to win two tournaments in a row.  I could honestly see a scenario where I win this tournament, and Davis says, well, just based on the year, if Brandt or Dustin played well, I'm taking the two or three guys that are really experienced, and Brandt and Dustin have had a better collective season than this guy.
"Part of me wishes that I knew what I had to do, and part of me is glad that I don't.  I'm excited to play the Deutsche Bank.  I feel like I'm in great position as far as the Playoffs go, and if that call comes, like I said, I will be overjoyed, and if it doesn't, then the first five months of the season cost me."

• Jason Dufner
"You know, I can't wait for the Ryder Cup to finally get here.  There's been a lot of talk about it since I made the team, so it's been an anticipation of the event.  I think as a golfer, for me it's probably one of the biggest events, if not the biggest event to participate in.  Pretty select amount of players, you only get 12 from each side every two years.  So pretty tough team to get on, so it's a huge accomplishment for me. Just everything I've heard about the Ryder Cup has been fantastic and just a great experience overall professionally and personally."

On skipping the Barclays: "You know, the main goal for me is to be in that Tour Championship.  If you're in that Tour Championship, you've got a realistic chance of winning the whole FedExCup.  I didn't pay too much attention to it.  I think somebody said I was sixth, so I guess I moved down a couple spots.  But you'd like to be as high as you can obviously going into that Tour Championship.  But I've got two weeks before that starts.  I had a little bit of a nice luxury of playing so well during the season that I could kind of afford to take a week off."