T
h e gol f i ng la nd scape ha s changed. One moment Tiger Woods was winning everything on what seemed like an easy stroll to passing Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championship victories. The next, Woods is down (if not yet completely out) and a freckly kid with untamed locks is trouncing everyone in sight and winning golf 's most demanding tournament by a staggering eight shots. So superior was 22-year-old McIlroy at Congressional that his record-breaking performance brought to mind Woods' own amazing breakthrough victory at the 1997
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Major Young Guns: Many expect McIlroy (left), who broke 12 US Open scoring records at Congressional, to spearhead the young brigade, including Jason Day, top, at the majors over the next decade AFP
Masters when, aged one year younger, he scorched to a 12-shot triumph. No European has ever done anything that compares. Even Nick Faldo and the late Ballesteros, acknowledged as the continent's two finest players, never bullied such a high-class field into submission quite like the Ulsterman did at Bethesda. Take nothing away from Sir Nick, but he was 33 and already a three-time major winner by the time he tamed St Andrews on his way to his most emphatic major triumph (a five-shot win) in 1990. Nobody goes out and wins their first grand slam event by eight – unless of course you're Tiger. Woods, of course, was laid up at home in Florida, tending to a troublesome knee and dodgy Achilles’ tendon at the time McIlroy was en route to becoming the youngest player in 88 years to win the US Open. In all, McIlroy, who will return to our shores for this year’s UBS Hong Kong Open at Fanling in December, set 12 records, finishing with a 16-under-par 268. And he set them with the support of the American galleries behind him. Rarely has a golfer from the other side of the Atlantic been treated as such, but that’s the thing with Rors – you can’t help but like him. “The support I got out there was incredible, for a foreigner to come over and play in front of these crowds," McIlroy said. "I think every cloud has a silver lining, and I think what happened at Augusta was a great thing for me in terms of support.” Ah yes, Augusta. A little over two months previously, McIlroy succumbed dramatically when last in the spotlight. Leading by four with 18 holes to play, the tousled one lost all rhythm and composure on the back-nine at the Masters and would end up well down the field, some 12 shots behind eventual champion Charl Schwartzel.
HK Golfer・JUL 2011
27