Rory Open

Rory Mcllroy

Hello everyone. This week the PGA Tour headed to Congressional for 111th U.S. Open, crowing a new champion: Rory Mcllroy. Now two years in a row for Northern Ireland, first Graeme McDowell at Pebble Beach now Mcllroy. Mcllroy started the final round with a eight shot lead, a dazzling 14 under par, setting the 54-hole record at the U.S. Open. With such a huge lead the 22-year Northern Irishman learned from his past mistakes at the Masters, converting this opportunity into a victory, winning by 8 strokes over Jason Day. Mcllroy now becomes the second youngest player to win a major since the era of World War II. If Mcllroy wasn’t in field the scoring would have been considered normal for the U.S. Open but Mcllroy played a bit better than great, revealing that no course is too tough for great ball-striking. Golf commentators  have called his game unusual and confident. Saying that if losing at the Master’s was the worst thing that could have happen to him, that in reality that wasn’t that bad. I won’t be quick to say he will be the next Tiger-like but I will say this guy is tremendously skilled and will become a great player. 

Besides striking the golf ball beautifully this week, Mcllroy's success with the putter lead to the win. Many golf critics believe his recent putting trend is the result of his short game sessions with the famous Dave Stockton.  Stockton also has great history at the Blue course at Congressional, winning the 1976 PGA Championship. Mcllroy is transforming into the complete golf machine, hitting basically every fairway and green,  converting those great shots to birdies. Many are quick to say that Mcllroy will reach the #1 position in the world or become the much needed Tiger-like star. I believe it is too quick to assume such a big statement. Yes he has contended in most of the past majors or at least posted some low scores, but sometimes thats not enough. He certainly portrays himself as the next tiger-like star with some of the words exchanged with sports media, expressing his self-confidence and goals to reach Tiger. Assumptions like these place pressure on the young star to progress, we saw this with Westwood and Kaymer, which once held the #1 position. 

Y.E. Yang

The U.S. Open is a clear example of the transformation of the game of golf into a world sport. With more than a dozen countries being represented in the field. With so much youth in different countries excelling in the game of golf, it certainly looks like the future for golf is bright and exciting. Some notable players this week were Jason Day, Sergio Garcia, and Y.E. Yang. Garcia fired 3 rounds under par enough for a 5-under finish for a T7. Day once again proving why he is such a great player, a third round 65 got the Aussie in the mix going into the final day. Day finished in solo second place, adding another second place finish at a major. Yang seem to be the one that had the game to catch up to Mcllroy but a final round of even par was not enough. Overall this was a great tournament even though it was a one man show, it provided for some excitement.  On the other hand, Lee Westwood out played my fellow bloggers pick of the week, Matt Kuchar, giving me a one point lead. 

Final Round: