BETHESDA, Md. — Every time Rory McIlroy lined up a shot Sunday,
there was some sort of record on the line, some kind of history to be
made.
That was this year's U.S. Open version of suspense. There was never
any doubt that the kid from Northern Ireland was going to win it.
It was a happy Father's Day indeed for Gerry McIlroy as he hugs his son Rory after the final round of the U.S. Open. (AP Photo)
In complete control of his emotions and his game, McIlroy never
slipped. He won his first major championship by shooting a 2-under 69 at
ultra-soft Congressional and closed his four-day onslaught at 16-under
268, eight shots ahead of Jason Day and four shots better than the U.S.
Open scoring record formerly held by four players, including men named
Woods and Nicklaus.
McIlroy now joins them on the list of major winners, two months
after a collapse so thorough, some wondered if he could ever recover. He
took a four-shot lead into the final day of the Masters. But after
hitting his 10th tee shot near a cabin on the outskirts of Augusta
National, he melted down, shot 80 and finished 15th.
His shot on the 10th hole of this one showed how far he's come. On
the 214-yard par-3, a downhill shot over water, McIlroy knocked the ball
above the hole, then watched as it stopped for a split second and
started spinning — backward, backward, before stopping an inch or two
from the hole. He pursed his lips. "Oooh," he said. Yeah, that was nice.
He tapped in for a birdie that got him to 17-under par at a
tournament that had never seen a score lower than 12 under before
Friday.
He ended up at 16 under, coming short of the all-time major record
of 19-under par — set by Tiger Woods at St. Andrews in 2000. But McIlroy
put plenty of ink in that record book nonetheless.
He owns the scoring records for 36, 54 and 72 holes at the toughest
test in golf and he became only the third player to break 70 in all four
rounds of the U.S. Open.
He did it at age 22, the same age as Nicklaus when he won the first
of his record 18 majors. The two have become friends and The Bear
appreciates what he's been seeing.
"I think this kid's going to have a great career," Nicklaus said in
an interview on NBC. "I don't think there's any question about it. He's
got all the components."
Day ended up winning the real competition in this one — the race for
second, and has now been runner-up in the first two majors of the year.
Kevin Chappell, Lee Westwood and Robert Garrigus tied for third at 6
under.
Pretty much everyone outside of Westwood conceded this one was over
before the day even began, and as player after player came off the
course, the testimonials poured in.
"As I've said before, I think he has probably the most talent I've ever seen from a
golfer,"
said Luke Donald, the top-ranked player in the world, after finishing
at 5-over par. "Lovely to watch him play, such a fluid motion, and he
hits it far."
Said Phil Mickelson: "You can tell that Rory has had this type of
talent in him for some time now, and to see him putting it together is
pretty neat to see." He finished with a 71 on Sunday that left him 7
over.
And this from Graeme
McDowell,
last year's champion and a countryman of McIlroy: "Nothing this kid
does ever surprises me. He's the best player I've ever seen."
McIlroy kept his head down throughout this round, sticking to his
mental game plan of thinking about golf shots, not championships.
Finally, as he walked to the 18th green, he waved and smiled to a
gallery on hand for one of the most dominating performances the game has
seen.
He became only the sixth player to shoot under par in all four
rounds of a U.S. Open. Earlier, Garrigus became the fifth player to
accomplish that feat — impressive, but a mere footnote on this day.
The dissection started right away, when McIlroy dug his approach
shot on No. 1 out of a divot to 6 feet for a birdie. He made another one
after hitting to tap-in range on the fourth hole to move to 16 under.
McIlroy didn't give a stroke back to par until No. 12 but it was
only his third over the entire tournament — including his double bogey
on No. 18 on Friday and a bogey on the 10th in the third round. As if to
prove he was human, he three-putted the 17th green for another bogey.
It was the first time he'd done that all week.
It was another calm, overcast day at Congressional, and there were
more low scores to be had. The Blue Course has been taking a beating
despite measuring 7,574 yards — second longest in U.S. Open history.
"It's not really a U.S. Open
golf course, to be honest," Martin Kaymer said.
But nobody took advantage better than McIlroy, whose dad was in the
gallery, watching his son take a bite out of the record book.
After the final tap-in, Gerry McIlroy met his son as he walked off the green.
Happy Father's Day, indeed.