Is Rory McIlroy capable of winning the next two majors to end the year with three? Why not.
McIlroy's US Open record-setting score of 268 strokes (mostly incredibly accurate strokes) has only been surpassed twice in a major when Greg Norman posted 267 at Royal St George's in 1993 British Open and when David Toms shot 265 at Atlanta in the 2001 PGA.
Guess what? Those are next two major venues. Sure conditions need to be right but in both cases if the courses are there to be taken, McIlroy is the best-placed player in the world to take them.
His attacking mindset, his distance off the tee, his laser-like irons and newly discovered mint putting touch mean that if it comes down to a low-scoring shoot-out, McIlroy is almost unstoppable.
The processional at Congressional was a case in point. Never has a US Open seen such low scoring it was the easiest US Open in half a century, maybe ever. And McIlroy, in those conditions, lapped the field.
Nick Faldo, who tweets under TheSirNickFaldo said this: ``Hogan's accuracy for most just legendary stories. 500 million worldwide all witnessed something legendary from Rory!''
Wow. A comparison with Hogan doesn't come lightly. Tiger Woods was never compared with Hogan, mainly because Tiger's strength was (is) his mental discipline, his focus, his creativity around the greens, his clutch putting. Woods was never super-accurate but he could grind out a score with his discipline, creativity and putting. McIlroy's accuracy and length means he gets plenty of looks at birdie every time he plays.
He has the all the weapons especially now (thanks to puttign guru Dave Stockton) he seems to have sorted out the putting blemishes that used to mar his play.
Of course, this one victory doesn't mean McIlroy will win every time he steps up, but with his new-found confidence, and with majors known for whittling away many pretenders, he should always be in the mix from now on in just as Tiger used to be.
He might be biased, but McIlroy's Northern Ireland countryman Graeme McDowell spoke to the shifting mantle from Woods to McIlroy as the player to beat when he said of McIlroy: ``He is the best player I have ever seen.''
What do you think? Is he the best? Can he be the man who beats Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors? One down, 17 to go.
Finally, I have to share my own little McIlroy story. Back in 2006 I was lucky enough to play Portrush in Northern Ireland, where McIlroy was a frequent visitor in his teens. It's a damn tough course, not made any easier by the wind that constantly scurries across the fairways.
After the round and following a drink in the clubhouse, the member who had accompanied us on our round stopped at the message board and pointed out the card pinned to the wall, showing the recently achieved club record of 62 (29-33 from memory).
It was signed by Rory McIlroy. ``Remember that name,'' said the member, ``he's going to be something special.''
I've been telling that story and waiting five years for those words to ring true. Now they do.
McIlroy's US Open record-setting score of 268 strokes (mostly incredibly accurate strokes) has only been surpassed twice in a major when Greg Norman posted 267 at Royal St George's in 1993 British Open and when David Toms shot 265 at Atlanta in the 2001 PGA.
Guess what? Those are next two major venues. Sure conditions need to be right but in both cases if the courses are there to be taken, McIlroy is the best-placed player in the world to take them.
His attacking mindset, his distance off the tee, his laser-like irons and newly discovered mint putting touch mean that if it comes down to a low-scoring shoot-out, McIlroy is almost unstoppable.
The processional at Congressional was a case in point. Never has a US Open seen such low scoring it was the easiest US Open in half a century, maybe ever. And McIlroy, in those conditions, lapped the field.
Nick Faldo, who tweets under TheSirNickFaldo said this: ``Hogan's accuracy for most just legendary stories. 500 million worldwide all witnessed something legendary from Rory!''
Wow. A comparison with Hogan doesn't come lightly. Tiger Woods was never compared with Hogan, mainly because Tiger's strength was (is) his mental discipline, his focus, his creativity around the greens, his clutch putting. Woods was never super-accurate but he could grind out a score with his discipline, creativity and putting. McIlroy's accuracy and length means he gets plenty of looks at birdie every time he plays.
He has the all the weapons especially now (thanks to puttign guru Dave Stockton) he seems to have sorted out the putting blemishes that used to mar his play.
Of course, this one victory doesn't mean McIlroy will win every time he steps up, but with his new-found confidence, and with majors known for whittling away many pretenders, he should always be in the mix from now on in just as Tiger used to be.
He might be biased, but McIlroy's Northern Ireland countryman Graeme McDowell spoke to the shifting mantle from Woods to McIlroy as the player to beat when he said of McIlroy: ``He is the best player I have ever seen.''
What do you think? Is he the best? Can he be the man who beats Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 majors? One down, 17 to go.
Finally, I have to share my own little McIlroy story. Back in 2006 I was lucky enough to play Portrush in Northern Ireland, where McIlroy was a frequent visitor in his teens. It's a damn tough course, not made any easier by the wind that constantly scurries across the fairways.
After the round and following a drink in the clubhouse, the member who had accompanied us on our round stopped at the message board and pointed out the card pinned to the wall, showing the recently achieved club record of 62 (29-33 from memory).
It was signed by Rory McIlroy. ``Remember that name,'' said the member, ``he's going to be something special.''
I've been telling that story and waiting five years for those words to ring true. Now they do.
A well deserved win and a good news from Northern Ireland for a change. Now you’ll have to blog about its local brew - Harp
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