Standing on the eighth tee at Augusta National on Sunday, Jordan Spieth was the Masters leader by two strokes. It was looking very much like the 20-year-old could supplant Tiger Woods as the youngest winner of the tournament Bobby Jones started in 1934.

Of course, by the time Spieth made it to the 10th tee, he trailed leader Bubba Watson by two, thanks to a pair of bogeys, and eventually finished tied for second. And while he didn’t mount a back-nine charge, Spieth didn’t fold either, stringing together eight pars and just one bogey over the final nine holes.

In basketball, fans and talking heads have been engaged in the project of finding “the next Jordan” since late in His Airness’ career. In the world of golf, panic is emerging about the PGA Tour P.T.W., or Post Tiger Woods, and the quest for his successor is on in full.

It seems logical, given Jordan Spieth’s near-miss at the Masters, to ask if the young Texan might be the heir apparent to Mr. Woods. Of course, Rory McIlroy, just 24 and twice a major champion, will surely take issue with his exclusion from this discussion.

Let’s tap the brakes a bit.

Just as there hasn’t been a next Jordan, there’s even less likely to be a next Tiger Woods. Do you remember the climate 20 years ago? When Tiger came to the Masters as an amateur in 1996 and said he expected to win, we believed him!

Indeed, Woods set the golfing world on fire as a junior and arrived into a climate of expectation and enthusiasm that’s unlikely to ever be seen again. The steady march, which began when young Tiger hopped from his high chair and imitated his father’s swing, with its resultant fervor and expectation that (as Arnold Palmer himself said) the young golfer from Cypress, Calif., would one day have more majors than Nicklaus and Palmer combined, is not going to be repeated.

We aren’t likely to have another father like Earl Woods, who anointed his son as a messianic figure not only in golf but in the world at large. Nor are we likely to have a captive audience that, again, believes this is somehow possible. We are never again going to see such foolishness as the famous Sports Illustrated “The Chosen One” article nor the early Tiger Woods Nike commercials.

However, as we prepare for the P.T.W. era, acknowledging that Woods’ slow decline began in late 2009 and could continue for the next 10 years (depending on what his battered body allows him to do), Jordan Spieth has shone as brightly as any golfer, save for Rory McIlroy at the 2011 Masters (for three rounds at least) and the 2011 U.S. Open.

The essential point of distinction between Spieth and McIlroy is that the latter fired a final-round 80 after entering Sunday with the lead at Augusta. Spieth, for his part, carded an even-par 72 but was beaten by Bubba Watson. Despite untidiness early, Spieth didn’t shoot himself in the foot Sunday. In 2011, McIlroy committed a gruesome act of seppuku.

Does this mean Spieth is ready to hop in Tiger Woods’ throne? Not exactly. However, he (along with McIlroy) seems due to succeed El Tigre as the face of the PGA Tour. Neither golfer can have the transcendent faculty or crossover appeal of Woods, but that isn’t their fault.

Sticking to what can be quantified, let’s look at a few points of comparison between the two prior to their first seasons on Tour and between their maiden campaigns.

Comparing amateur records

Tiger Woods’ amateur record will likely never be equaled. Although Jordan Spieth was a very good amateur and became the only golfer since Woods to win the U.S. Junior Amateur twice and sat atop the Rolex rankings as the best amateur in the world, these achievements are a far cry from what Tiger was able to do as an amateur.

Woods won three consecutive U.S. Junior Amateurs and three consecutive U.S. Amateurs.

Think about that for a second.

There’s absolutely no comparison between what Spieth did as an amateur and what Tiger did. The chasm between Woods and the next-best amateur golfer in recent memory is even larger than the one between him and any current PGA Tour player.

Comparing first seasons

Last year, in his first season on Tour, Jordan Spieth competed in 23 events. He made 18 cuts, won once and finished second three times. He notched nine top-10 finishes as well. In 1997, Tiger’s first full season on Tour, he competed in 21 events. Woods made 20 cuts, winning the Masters and three other tournaments. Like Spieth, he finished inside the top 10 nine times.

Another important detail regarding their respective first PGA Tour campaigns: At the beginning of the 1997 season, Woods was 21. Spieth, for his part, was 19. While this doesn’t level the playing field, it is a significant credit to what Jordan Spieth has been able to accomplish on Tour before he can legally sit at the bar in the grill room of the venues at which he plays and order a beer.

Tiger Woods’ Masters win and the manner in which he won are significant points of differentiation between the golfers, as are the multiple victories. However, the fact that Woods was two years older than Jordan Spieth during his first full season as a PGA Tour member is the item that tips the scales in Spieth’s favor more than any other.

Also, Spieth finished second in his first Masters appearance. Woods, who competed as an amateur for the first time at Augusta in 1995, tied for 41st. This is hugely significant.

Comparing key stats

Let’s see what the numbers indicate — namely, Spieth’s and Woods’ stats from their respective freshman campaigns.

Obviously, significantly fewer stats were kept in the pre-ShotLink era. Still, the first point of comparison is that Tiger was nearly five yards longer off the tee in his rookie season — 294.8 yards vs. Spieth’s 289.4 — while using a steel-shafted Titleist driver with a head that seems like it’s a quarter of the size of drivers in play today.

Spieth was also less accurate off the tee last year than Woods was in 1997. However, as is the trend, Woods was 80th on Tour in 1997, hitting 68.6 percent of fairways. Spieth placed 18th last year, even though he only found the short grass 67.8 percent of the time.

There’s a healthy gap between Woods of ’97 and Spieth of ’13 in the greens-in-regulation department as well. Tiger hit 70.3 percent of all greens in regulation, whereas Spieth hit 66.9.

Looking at the two golfers’ scoring averages: Woods’ average for 1997 was 69.1, while Spieth’s last season was 69.6. That’s a sizable difference over the four rounds of a golf tournament.

Still, the golfing world is right to be excited about Jordan Spieth. Beyond the stats above or the fact that he won a PGA Tour event at 19 years of age, the resolve he showed down the stretch at Augusta in his first appearance (even while being visibly frustrated), the way he said all the right things in interviews, and his humility and work ethic should pay serious dividends in the near future.

This quote from the young golfer after his final round stood out: “I’m hungry. That was fun, but at the same time it hurts right now. I didn’t come out on top, but I can take a lot of positives away.”

Spieth wants to win. He enjoys the spotlight. He hates to lose. He keeps perspective and stays positive. The quote sounds like something another young Tour star might have said nearly 20 years ago.