McIlroy Masters 2011 U.S. Open

            A kid who blew a four shot lead heading into Sunday at Augusta, showed that he was able to battle adversity and learn from his mistakes that cost him the green jacket. That Sunday, McIlroy shot an 80, including four bogeys, a double-bogey, and a triple-bogey and after his triple-bogey on the 10th hole, his dreams of winning the 2011 Masters became a nightmare. Yet, McIlroy showed something special after blowing the 2011 Masters by acting like a true veteran and not shining away from the criticism. He showed what being a true man is about. He showed his composure and his toughness and used the media's criticism to make him a stronger golfer, but more importantly a stronger person. This fueled him to become the second youngest U.S. Open winner since 1923, when Bobby Jones won the U.S. Open. McIlroy is only 22 years old and became the second youngest to win a major since World War II. (You might have heard of the other guy, Tiger Woods, who was 21 when he won his first major at Augusta.)
           
           At the 111th U.S. Open at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, McIlroy blew the rest of the field out of the water. It was never even close on Sunday, and the only reason to watch Sunday's round was just to see how many strokes McIlroy would win by. He ended up winning by eight strokes and shot 16 under par. No one got any closer than eight strokes on Sunday, and when McIlroy hit a perfect shot on the 10th, a foot away from a hole in one, it was evident that no one was getting close to McIlroy this Sunday. His winning margin of eight strokes was the most at the U.S. Open since 2000, when Tiger Woods won by 15 shots at Pebble Beach. Among the records broken at the 111th U.S. Open: shooting 268 (16 under) for the tournament, shooting 199 (14 under) after 54-holes, shooting 131 (11 under) after 36-holes, 17 under par at any point at the U.S. Open, fastest to reach double-digits under par (26 holes), tied Tiger Woods with a six shot lead after 36 holes, joined Lee Trevino and Lee Janzen as the only players to shoot in the 60's all four days, and hit 62 out of 72 greens in regulation, which is the best any golfer has ever done since they kept track of that statistic. It was truly something special to witness, watching this young stud from Northern Ireland dominate the field. McIlroy led the U.S. Open from the first hole all the way to the 72nd hole, becoming the seventh player in U.S. Open history to accomplish this feat.

         If there is ever someone to finally compare to Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy is the guy. I understand this was only his third time winning an event, (Dubai Desert Classic in 2009, Quail Hollow Championship in 2010, and the 2011 U.S. Open) but the scary thing is, he is just going to keep getting better. I do not know if many golfers would have been able to bounce back after blowing the Masters, and win the following major two months later, at ease. The only other golfer that I could see pulling that off is the old Tiger Woods. McIlroy does not have any serious flaws in his game, he has a powerful drive with good accuracy, an excellent iron player, above average with his wedge, and a very good putter. It is unfair to McIlroy to compare him to be the next Tiger Woods, but he seems like the guy who would love this, because he has that swagger and confidence to relish this. You could just see his confidence on the course throughout all four days, and you would not think someone at his young age would be this confident after blowing the 2011 Masters. He took a different approach than most other golfers, instead of looking at it as blowing a four shot lead at Augusta, he looked at it as leading the Masters for the first three days and learning from his mistakes on that Sunday. McIlroy has led the first two major tournaments this year in seven of the eight rounds and was that one bad day away from competing for the Grand Slam this year. Golf fans now have something fun to look forward to while Tiger Woods is on the shelf trying to require from his knee injury. Just imagine Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods paired together on the final day of one of the four major championships, going mano y mano on the last 18 holes to win a major. This is exactly what Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, golf, and the fans have been waiting for. It is going to be exciting to watch if Tiger Woods will motivate himself to get back to what he was before his knee injuries and get back to the old Tiger Woods. The one thing that almost certain, Rory McIlroy is going to keep getting better, if he keeps up the hard work he has been doing since he started golfing at the age of four. Just remember, if McIlroy does not win the rest of this year, do not write him off just yet, because it took Tiger Woods 28 months to win another major after winning the Masters in 1997. We really won't know how good McIlroy is going to be for another couple of years, but he is definitely on the right path towards greatness.