Collegiate Times

Professional golf finally has a new superstar: Rory McIlroy.

Just ask legendary golfer Gary Player, who said McIlroy is “the most exciting young player in the world,” or 2010 U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell, who called McIlroy the best player he had ever seen.

After a mere four years of professional status, the 22-year-old native of Northern Ireland thrilled the golf world Sunday by walking away from the 2011 U.S. Open with his first major championship and a heap of broken records.

Making his victory at the Open even sweeter is the contrast it has with McIlroy’s last major appearance at the 2011 Masters Tournament in April.

There, he started out very impressively, becoming the youngest player to ever lead the first round of the tournament. McIlroy kept this lead over the first three rounds, entering Sunday’s final round as the leader.

In a finish that disappointed many, however, McIlroy’s game faltered and he ended the day with a score of 80.

The U.S. Open, played this year at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, began the first of its four rounds last Thursday, June 16th. McIlroy was as an early leader, ending the day with a six-under score of 65, three shots ahead of 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.

However, it was on the second day that McIlroy really shined. The young golfer, aided by a series of birdies and an eagle, attained a score of 12-under par, achieving the then-record lowest under par U.S. Open score faster than any other golfer in the tournament’s history.

At the 17th hole, McIlroy shot a birdie to achieve a record 13-under par. A double bogey on the next hole saw McIlroy finish with an 11-under score of 66, but he finished the day with the lowest 36-hole total score in U.S. Open history and a six-shot lead over his closest competitor Y.E. Yang, giving McIlroy the largest 36-hole lead in Major history.

Saturday’s third round proved even kinder to McIlroy. After the front nine and with the help of an eagle on the 9th hole, he was able to regain his 13-under lead. While a bogey on the 10th hole brought his lead down as it had on Friday, McIlroy quickly came back.

A birdie on the 14th hole allowed him to break the record he set the previous day, this time as being the first golfer to have a score 14-under-par at the U.S. Open.

McIlroy exited the day with an eight-shot lead over closest pursuer Yang, the second biggest 54-hole lead in U.S. Open history, bested only by Tiger Woods’ ten-shot lead in the 2000 Open.

“You run out of superlatives to describe what he’s doing this week,” previous U.S. Open champion McDowell told GOLF Magazine. “He’s decimating a field.”

With the final round being all that remained between McIlroy and a Major championship, the question remained if he could pull it off again nd close the tournament. 

His inability to carry over his performance into the final round of the Masters created questions of whether the Open’s final round would see McIlroy slip up.

McIlroy was confident, however, saying in a press conference Saturday that his similar experience at the Masters had taught him how to approach the final round.

McIlroy erased the doubts swiftly on Sunday. Entering the round with 14-under-par, he picked up birdies on the 1st, 4th, and 6th, increasing that score to 16-under. McIlroy began the back-nine on the par-3 10th hole, which caused him to bogey in the last round. His shot cleared the water on that hole and curved neatly towards the hole, allowing the Northern Irishman to score a tournament-best 17-under-par.

However, putting woes on the 12th and the 17th caused him to shoot two bogeys that day. 

McIlroy was able to walk triumphantly to the 18th green, where he made par to win his first U.S. Open and his first Major title.

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A version of this article appeared in the Jun 23 issue of the Collegiate Times.