ChAmpionShipS mediA GUide - USGA

Rory McIlroy shot a 2-under-par 69 in Sunday’s final round on
the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda,
Md., for a record-breaking 16-under-par 268 total to claim
the 111th U.S. Open Championship. His score in relation to par
is four better than Tiger Woods’ 12-under at Pebble Beach in
2000, and his final total eclipsed the previous 72-hole low of
272 by four strokes.
“There’s a lot of joy, and especially with this victory, there’s
quite a bit of relief, as well. More joy, though,” McIlroy said.
“I knew going out today that I was very comfortable. I knew
most of the field was going to have a hard time to catch up to
the score that I was on. Just very happy to win the U.S. Open
and to win it in a bit of style, as well, is always nice.”
The magnitude of McIlroy’s wire-to-wire victory overshadowed
several noteworthy performances behind him. Most
notable was Australian Jason Day, 23, runner-up in his second
successive major. Day shot nine under on the weekend to finish
at 8-under 276, eight strokes behind McIlroy.
Tied for third at 6-under 278 were 2009 PGA champion Y.E.
Yang (a final-round 71), world No. 2 Lee Westwood (70) and
unlikely Americans Robert Garrigus (70) and Kevin Chappell
(66), both of whom qualified for the championship.
The undeniable story, though, was McIlroy. He began the
week with a bogey-free 6-under 65 and for the week he
totaled only three bogeys and one double bogey. He hit 62
of 72 greens in regulation, which is a record for as long as the
USGA has been tracking such a statistic.
Perhaps most important about the win is that McIlroy quells
repeated references to his final-round Masters collapse –
when he shot an 80 – and prompts speculation as to how
many more majors he can win.
At 22 years, one month and 15 days, McIlroy is the youngest
U.S. Open champion since Bob Jones in 1923 (21 years,
three months, 28 days) and the second-youngest player to
win a major in the past 80 years. Tiger Woods was 10 months
younger when he won the 1997 Masters.
McIlroy Wins the 2011 Championship
U.S. Open 7
“I didn’t have a chance to play with Tiger when he was in his
real prime, but this guy is the best I’ve ever seen, simple as
that,” said Graeme McDowell, a fellow Northern Irishman
whose reign as U.S. Open champion ended with a 2-under
282. “He’s great for golf. He’s a breath of fresh air for the game
and perhaps we’re ready for golf’s next superstar, and maybe
Rory is it.”
Some observers will use the fact that 22 players finished at or
below par on a course that never became as penal as USGA
officials might have hoped. In 2000, Woods won by 15 strokes
in windy, foggy conditions at Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links
and the runner-up score was three over par.
“[The USGA] stuck with their game plan all week, which was
to let us have some fun,” said Davis Love III, the 1997 PGA
champion and 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup captain. “The last three or
four years it seems like the Open has been a lot more fun than
it was at Oakmont (2007) or Winged Foot (2006).”
While this is McIlroy’s first major, many of his peers could see
this coming. Westwood pointed out McIlroy’s final-round
10-under 62 at the 2010 Wells Fargo Championship on a U.S.
Open-like Quail Hollow Club course as an example of his
immense talent.
McIlroy may be the one most surprised by his rapid ascension.
“If you had asked me when I turned pro when I was 18, ‘Do
you think you’d win a major by the time you’re 22?’ I would
have said no,” he said. “I would have liked to have been an
established player on the European Tour, maybe a couple of
wins. But to contend in the majors how I have so early, I don’t
really know what I can put it down to … if it’s just hard work
and practice, or if I feel like I just have a little bit more focus or
intensity for major weeks.
“I’m surprised that I’ve done it so early. It’s a great thing for
me. I can always call myself a major champion now and I can
go ahead and focus on trying to get some more.”
Open