The golfing community is in awe at the way Rory McIlroy won his first major.
He stunned the entire field with his amazing performance coming from a devastating loss two months ago at the Masters.
And considering he is only 22 years old, this win shows that he is in the next level.
All the superlatives being written and said about him by fellow Europeans, especially his countryman Graeme McDowell—“He is the best player I’ve ever seen”—is premature, however, given that McIlroy’s winning career seems to be just starting.
Johnny Miller’s statement that McIlroy will be able to handle success better than Tiger Woods, still remains to be seen and proven.
Even Jack Nicklaus appears to have been taken by this young man’s potential. He had invited McIlroy to lunch to give him a few words of advice and encouragement.
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But let us now try to look at last week’s major championship for what it was.
Given that it was the US Open, scores were refreshingly much lower, and this was not just of Rory’s. The entire field scored low as well.
This was due to the fact that the USGA set up the course very differently from past US Opens.
It surprised me to see that the rough areas were much shorter and the greens ridiculously softer.
On the green, shots that were hit from the fairway were backing up and those hit from the rough were holding.
This is a recipe to guarantee low scores.
I have played and seen enough US Open golf courses to know that this venue—the Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland—was prepared differently.
Former No. 1 Martin Kaymer put is accurately when he said, “It’s not really a US Open golf course, to be honest.”
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If I may take you back in time, when Tiger Woods dominated the field at the US Open in Pebble Beach in 2000, even from the fairway, hardly anyone in the field could hold their shots on the green. Even more so from the rough.
And when the tournament ended, Tiger was the ONLY player under par (12 under). He won the tournament by a record margin of 15 shots.
Given these facts, my opinion is that Tiger’s performance at that time still hails as tops.
It will be very interesting to see what the future holds for the career of Rory McIlroy.
Putting him in a box with many expectations will serve no purpose, especially to him.
Perhaps we should just sit back and watch him be the best that he can be.
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