The boy is getting too big
Gary Player already said it three years ago: this kid could succeed Tiger himself at the top of world golf. “He has a great team by his side, a huge talent and one of the best swings. If he continues like this, I have no doubt he has the potential to be number one in the world.” At the moment, he’s already fourth….y going up. Especially if he keeps up the pace he set for his golf at the last U.S. Open, where he showed a game that had not been seen for many years at the Grand Slam and which resulted in several records.
The almost beardless boy with curly hair born in the Northern Irish village of Holywood became, at 22 years and 46 days, the youngest U.S. Open winner since the legendary Bobby Jones in 1923 and the youngest on the European Tour since it was created. McIlroy broke Seve Ballesteros’ record, who won the British Open at 22 years and 103 days. Rory came close to reaching the all-time major record of 19 under par set by Woods at the 2000 British Open at St. Andrews.
INFARCT RECORDS
His feat at the Congressional Country Club, in Maryland, was seasoned with some heart-stopping records, as he not only won by eight strokes ahead of the second, the Australian Jason Day, but also won with no less than 16 strokes under par, a tournament record.
No one was surprised by his first Grand Slam victory – his triumph in a major had been predicted for some time – although no one expected it to be by such a large lead and such a crushing score.
Rory enjoyed a triumphant march on Sunday as he carded a 69, two under par. With the score of 268, 16 under par, Macllroy broke a U.S. Open record set by Tiger Woods, who won with -12 at Pebble Beach in 2000.
“The whole week has been unbelievable,” said Mcllroy, who succeeded fellow countryman Graeme McDowell as champion, as he lifted the trophy.
“I know how good Tiger was at Pebble in 2000 and today I went out to try to emulate him in some way. Augusta was a valuable experience. I knew what I had to do today to win. I put some new things into practice and it paid off.”
The Australian Day closed his performance with a 68, three under par, and never really challenged Mcllroy.
The third place was shared, ten strokes behind the winner, by the Korean Yang Y.E., US PGA champion in 2009, the Englishman Lee Westwood and the Americans Robert Garrigus and Kevin Chappel.
Of the two Spaniards who made the cut (Jiménez missed it), the best was Sergio García, seventh, with 279 strokes and tied with Sweden’s Peter Hanson, one stroke behind two Grand Slam champions, Schwartzel and Oosthuizen. Álvaro Quirós could have had a better luck if he had not perpetrated a disastrous last round, with 78 strokes, which made him drop to 54th place in the ranking.
With Mcllroy’s victory, the group of four holders of the most important titles under 30 years of age is formed: South African Louis Oosthuizen, who won the British Open last year, German Martin Kaymer, PGA champion in 2010, and South African Charl Schwartzel, who won this year’s Masters.
TIGER: “IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE”.
Woods, who missed the tournament due to injury and has not won a major since the 2008 U.S. Open, sent his congratulations to the young champion. “Congratulations and well done. Let’s enjoy it. This was an impressive performance.”, Woods said in a statement. McIlroy achieved his feat two months after a collapse so severe that some came to wonder if he could ever recover.
On the final day of the Masters he was leading the tournament by four strokes, but after his tenth tee shot fell near a hut on the outskirts of Augusta National he collapsed, had a round of 80 and fell to fifteenth place.
These are the new U.S. Open marks McIlroy has set or shared:
- Lowest total in the middle of the tournament: -131
- Biggest lead at mid-tournament: -6 (with Woods)
- Lowest total 54 holes: -199
- Fastest to -10: 26 holes
- Fastest in -11: 32 holes
- Fastest in -12: 34 holes
- First in -13: 35 holes
- First in -14: 50 holes
- First in -15: 55 holes
- First in -16: 58 holes
- First in -17: 64 holes
- Highest under par in 72 holes: -16
- Lower 72 holes total: 268 (for four)
He also became only the third player to shoot all four rounds under 70 for the tournament. The stats, inevitably, also reflected
data on how easy the Washington course was all week, but it was that way for all the players and only one knew how to take advantage of it.
This one at Congressional Country Club was Rory’s second victory on the American Tour, where in May last year he won the Wells Fargo Championship with a record-breaking final round of 62 to beat Phil Mickelson by four strokes. He also finished tied third at the US PGA and the British Open.
With 63 strokes, he recorded the lowest first round at St Andrews in the history of the tournament. He became the second 20-year-old to enter the top ten in the world, after Sergio Garcia, and maintained his position throughout 2010.
PRECOCIOUS AS TIGER
Just like Tiger, at the age of 2 years old, Rory was already talking a lot with the clubs in his hands. At that age he was hitting shots of almost 40 meters. It was no wonder that he went on to have a brilliant amateur career in which he reached the top of the World Amateur Ranking and became the youngest winner of the prestigious West of Ireland and Irish Closed Championship in 2005.
He caught the eye with an excellent opening 68 in the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie, the only bogey-free card of the day, and finished third in his second event as a professional, the Alfred Dunhil Links Championship. That earned him enough money to finish in the top 115 at the end of the season and become the youngest and fastest Tour card holder at the time, in just two tournaments. He represented Europe in the 2004 Junior Ryder Cup, and played with the ‘big’ team in the intercontinental tournament at The Celtic Manor Resort in October 2010, where he won two points out of four, including the crucial middle singles against Stewart Cink on the last day. In 2009 he claimed his first victory on the European Tour, at the Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy had been one of the most solid youngsters in world-class golf for years. Not in vain, he had become in 2009 the youngest player in history to reach the top 50 of the world ranking. Born on May 4, 1989, McIlroy surpassed the previous record of Sergio Garcia, who entered the top 50 on August 15, 1999, after his head-to-head with Tiger Woods in the famous US PGA. The Northern Irishman entered the prestigious club of the top 50 at the age of 19 years and 202 days.
Rory played his first European Tour tournament in 2005, a few days after his 16th birthday and while still an amateur. Also with that status, he caused a sensation in his magnificent first round of the 2007 British Open when he signed 3 under par, the only bogey-free round, to finish the day in third place.
After a brilliant amateur career, which he crowned as world number one in the amateur rankings, he turned professional in the fall of 2007 after playing in the Walker Cup with the Great Britain and Ireland team against the United States.
He made the cut in his first professional tournament and finished third in his second event, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, earning enough money to secure a place in the top 115 of the European Tour rankings at the end of the season, making him the youngest and fastest player to secure a card for next season in just two tournaments.
In his third participation, in the Valle Romano Madrid Open, he finished fourth. It was clear that this boy was going to give a lot to talk about. In January 2008 he entered the top 200 of the world ranking.
McIlroy, a Manchester United fan and tennis enthusiast, had played nine tournaments in the year up to the U.S. Open and had six top 10 finishes. In his first appearance of the year, in Abu Dhabi, he finished second, and in the Malaysian Open he was third. In the Volvo World Match Play Championship, at Finca Cortesin, he finished ninth, and in the Dubai Desert Classic and the Cadillac Championship, of the World Series of Golf, he finished tenth.
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