Daily 4 Sports Blog
by Matt Kingston
June 23, 2011
=============================================================================
A lot of things were different about 22-year old Rory McIlroy winning the 111th U.S. Open this past week. There isn't enough code on this website to list all of the records he broke for the week, or all of the accolades he is receiving afterwards. The bottom line is that for all that were watching, you weren't watching a changing of the guard, you were simply watching history in the making.
The first thing that everyone did was compare him to Tiger Woods, which is no surprise, or stretch considering how Tigre' lapped the field at Pebble Beach in 2000 in similar fashion as Rory did at Congressional. However, I don't think Tiger is the right comparison for McIlroy. Not only are their accomplishments at different ends of the spectrum, their personalities are opposites as well. This is Rory's what, second in on the PGA Tour? When Tiger won his first major, he had maybe a dozen wins under his belt on tour. Granted, with Rory sharing time on the European Tour, he hasn't taken as many opportunities in the states, but that helps prove my point. Now, both golfers are great competitors, that is a given, but they compete differently. Other golfers were afraid of Tiger after his domination in 2000. The scowl, the intensity, the squint, all of those things added to Woods' mystique. I think if Rory tried a Tiger scowl, he would break up with laughter in mid squint. Nobody on tour is afraid of this floppy-haired 22-year old, and you know what? The same goes for him.
When McIlroy hit his tee shot to within inches on the almost-unfair par 3 10th on Sunday, he said that was when he knew he had the tournament in the bag. I know he would not have said it, but I will say it for him; it was over a long time before that. Listening to the sound on the feed from some of his competitors after round 2 on Friday told me that they were all looking into how much 2nd place paid out. Zach Johnson asked how many Rory was up after his round and when the answer was 9, he paused and laughed after he said, "Well, that's pretty good." Having never been up by 9 strokes in a major championship, I would say that you are no longer playing the field, but rather yourself. Especially when in the last round of a major you played, you shot a cool 80 on Sunday to turn a 5-shot lead to losing by 10. Whatever his caddie was telling him from holes 11 to 18 worked because he channeled Herm Edwards and "played to win the game." He didn't need another 65 to take the trophy back to Northern Ireland for the 2nd straight year, he just needed to stay out of his own way and figure out where his dad was to give him a hug.
That was one of the coolest parts of the week, seeing his father there rooting him on every shot of the way. What a father's day gift, to see your child using his gift to give you yours must be unreal. In the days after the win, it came out that Rory's father and a couple of buddies pooled 100 pounds each and made a bet when Rory was 15. They found 500-1 odds from a bookies in England that said he will win the British Open Championship before he turns 25. That would mean a payday of just over $420,000 dollars. American. If Rory keeps playing like he has been in major championships, I am not sure if there will be enough booze in all of Ireland to keep the celebration going. But then again...
|
