The 2011 United States Open Golf Championship is now in the record books. The golf course, Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland, made a less than stellar impact and will find itself relegated to the Olympia Fields category of Open sites never to be used again.
The tournament drama was close to non-existent with a runaway eight-stroke win by the victor. The constant rain throughout the week made scoring seem more like the pros were as the Booz Allen Classic than the National Open. And yet, when all was said and done, it was a United States Open for the ages.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland romped to an eight-stroke margin of victory and propelled himself from the wide-open category of potential phenom to major champion in the course of four days. A child prodigy who took up the game as a 4-year-old and flourished under the direction of golf professional Michael Bannon, McIlroy has been a known golfing entity since he was a 15-year-old.
In 2005, Rory won two prestigious Irish amateur championships, namely the West of Ireland Amateur and the Irish Close Amateur. He also qualified into the field at the British Masters, one of the longer-running events on the European PGA Tour. In 2006, McIlroy won the West of Ireland and Irish Close again and added the European Amateur to his ever-growing golf resume. He also caught the attention of top golf pros when he shot a competitive 61 at Royal Portrush, the site of the 1951 British Open.
McIlroy continued to improve and in 2007 he made the cut at the Dubai Classic as an amateur. That summer he qualified for the British Open at Carnoustie, made the cut and finished tied for 42nd. At the end of the summer he played on the Walker Cup team in the biennial matches against the United States.
In September of 2007 as an 18-year-old, McIlroy turned pro. He was able to get into three European Tour events prior to the conclusion of the season. He finished 42nd at the British Masters and then showed great form as he finished third at the Alfred Dunhill at St. Andrews, and fourth at the Open de Madrid. His pair of top-four finishes put him 95th on the Order of Merit and made him exempt on the European Tour for the 2008 season.
The 2008 campaign was all about improvement as Rory finished 36th on the money list. He came close to winning but faltered down the stretch at the European Masters to finish second. He built upon that season and had several breakthrough moments in 2009. After finishing second at the Hong Kong Open, McIlroy won the Dubai Classic by one stroke over Justin Rose and a top-notch field. He played in his first Masters that spring and finished 20th. With one win, three seconds and three shows, McIlroy finished second on the money list.
McIlory doubled-dipped in 2010, playing as a full-time member of both the European Tour and the American PGA Tour. In May, he won his first American event in grand style, shooting a final-round 62 at the Quail Hollow Championship in North Carolina. He ran down Phil Mickelson to win by four strokes. He had the first-round lead in the British Open and finished third and then did the same at the PGA, coming up one shot short of the Martin Kaymer-Bubba Watson playoff. McIlroy ended the 2010 campaign as a member of the victorious European team in the Ryder Cup Matches at Celtic Manor.
Rory made a 54-hole impact at the 2011 Masters, only to fall apart in the fourth round. He lost his four-shot lead, carded a 43 on the back nine, recorded a score of 80 for the day, and finished 10 strokes behind Charl Schwartzel. People took notice of McIlroy”s collapse, but they also took notice of the way he handled it. He spoke openly to the press and showed maturity and grace at a most difficult time.
Pundits and golf fans wondered how McIlroy would respond to his Masters meltdown. Jack Nicklaus had thrown away the 1960 U.S. Open but came back to win it two years later. Tom Watson faltered at the 1974 U.S. Open but rebounded to win the 1975 British Open. Nick Faldo suffered a similar fate at the 1983 British Open and the 1984 Masters, but he broke through with his first major win at the ”86 British Open. McIlroy would have to wait two months to put the memory of the 2011 Masters out of his mind with his shockingly impressive win at Congressional last weekend.
So, what happens next? True, McIlroy joins Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros and Jack Nicklaus on the short list of post-war major winners who did so prior to their 23rd birthday. Then again, so too is Jerry Pate on that list. Too many people have jumped on the next-Tiger, next-Jack, next-Arnie bandwagon. Too many people have tried to compare the 2011 U.S. Open to Tiger”s 2000 Open at Pebble Beach when Woods was 12-under-par and won by 15 shots. McIlroy at Congressional is more reminiscent of Tiger”s first major win at the ”97 Masters where he shot 18-under-par to win by 12 shots.
In the end, I”m not ready to say that the new Tiger is here amongst us. However, I secretly hope that Rory McIlroy becomes the modern era”s version of Byron Nelson. Like Nelson, McIlroy has a pure and natural golf swing. It is a thing of beauty and yet it”s so very simplistic. Like Nelson, he appears to have no real weaknesses in his game. Like Nelson, he has thus far shown himself to be a class act. He is well-grounded, fan friendly and seems to be a regular bloke as they would say in the pubs back home. Should he end up with five majors, just like Nelson, I”d be good with that, too. After all, no one on tour other than Tiger has more than four majors at this point in time.
Rory McIlroy is the champion of our National Open. He is 22 years old, he has his first major championship under his belt, and he has a full career ahead of him. How he handles all this sudden fame remains to be seen. I don”t anticipate that he will be the next Tiger Woods, but the nice thing about all this is that I also don”t anticipate that he will be golf”s next distant and aloof superstar. His game is rock-solid, his smile is contagious, and he should be a lot of fun to watch over the next 15 years.
