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The 111^th U S Open Championship

June 16^th – June 19^th 2011

Congressional Country Club

Bethesda, Maryland. U S A.

Generally accepted as the toughest course set-up of the 4 majors, the US Open doesn’t take prisoners.  Ernie Els won here in 1997 and said “You have to be on your game or you shouldn’t bother turning up!”

Winning score?  Around 5 or 8 under.

The second longest course in US history at 7,574 yards, the par 71 Blue Course is a lengthy prospect and of the top 3 in World rankings, the pairing of Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer should favour the longer hitting of in form Westwood over the in form Donald.

Then there’s Rory McIlroy who could so easily have won the Masters back in April, leading by 4 shots at the start of the last day and who experienced a horrendous meltdown on the back nine.  “I’m over it”, he declared and those who know him think he is, but there will always be that lingering doubt.

His friend and current US Open Champion, Graeme McDowell has not been in good form recently and somehow you feel that he will be pleased to relinquish the burden of being the Champion with all its responsibilities, when he hands back the Trophy this week.  He has enjoyed his year without doubt, but I think he will begin to win again after this tournament is over.

There’s no Tiger Woods playing this year and Phil Mickelson, despite being runner up in 5 US Opens, has a swashbuckling game not naturally suited to a US Open - but this could be his chance.

Of his other fellow countrymen, Steve Stricker is looking good and Bubba Watson, Matt Kuchar, Nick Watney and Dustin Johnson all could step up to the plate this week.

DAY 1

65     Rory McIlroy, N.Ireland, ends the day at 6 under with a 3 shot lead, playing absolutely majestic golf.

68     Y E Yang the South Korean winner of the 2009 PGA Championship.           Charl Schwartzel, South Africa and current Masters Champion.

69     Sergio Garcia, Spain, at last putted well despite a 3 putt on 18.       K Kim, South Korea.          Ryan Palmer, US.          Louis Oosthuizen, South Africa and current British Open Champion.     Alexandre Rocha,Brazil        Scott Hend,Aus.       

DAY 2

131   Rory McIlroy 66, a 36 hole record.  Increases his lead by a further 3, to 6.  And this despite a double bogey 6 on the 18^th!  Unbelievable!  Records are being broken ... This is the biggest half way lead in a US Open.  131 is the lowest 36 hole total.  He is the 1^st US Open player to get to 13 under par, although ended up on 11 under because of that double bogey on 18.

137   Y E Yang 69.  Yang is doing nothing wrong and finds himself a further 3 behind!  Normally, he’d be 3 in the lead...

140   Garcia (71),    Robert Garrigus  USA (70),    Zac Johnson USA, (69),    Matt Kuchar USA, (68),    Brandt Snedeker USA, (70).

The Cut is set at +4, 146 and out goes Casey, Cink, Fowler, Hend, Laird, Mahan, Rose, Scott, Els, Poulter, Watney, Furyk, Choi and others...

DAY 3

199   Rory McIlroy 68, moves to 14 under and adds another 2 shots to his lead.  A 54 hole record and the 1^st player to get to 14 under in a US Open. He’s 8 shots clear.  This is just unbelievable and surely at 8 clear nothing can stop him....I think I remember reading Jim Fleck coming from 9 behind to win once but, no that couldn’t happen again.  Please, no, that could NOT happen again...The Masters keeps coming back to me but Rory’s over that – he said so.  Move on for goodness sake.  This is not the birth of a new golfing superstar; it is the confirmation of a new superstar.  Go get it, Rory.

207   Y E Yang 70.  At 6 under he would be sitting right at the top of the leaderboard normally.  Well, actually he is almost at the top!  But there’s one name ahead of him and a colossal 8 shots better...

208   Jason Day Australia, (65) runner up at the Masters,   Lee Westwood England, (65).  Two fantastic 3^rd rounds of 65 which would normally put them right in the hunt, but they’re 9 behind and surely just playing for fun now, there’s no way they can win, surely?     Also on 5 under is Garrigus (68).

209   Garcia (69),  Fredrik Jacobson Sweden (66),  M Kuchar (69).

 DAY 4

268   Rory McIlroy 69.  16 under par.  A 72 hole record.        (The last 10 US Open Champions combined, scored 14 under!) 

          Birdies on the 1^st get him off to the perfect start and another follows on the 4^th.  He is playing majestically and hitting the ball beautifully.  Out in 2 under 34, it doesn’t matter what anybody else is doing, he’s untouchable.  Yang birdies the 5^th and 9^th to also go out in 34 and then hits a fantastic tee shot very close on  the difficult 10^th.   Is this the big comeback charge?  McIlroy must have remembered the 10^th on the last day at Augusta – it was the start of his big collapse...What’s he going to do?  He’s going to put it inside Yang’s that’s what he’s going to do and it’s so close even I could hole it!  That tee shot at 10 was the beginning of the end for everyone else out there that day.  Poor Yang got his 2 but his fight must have deserted him at that point and he slipped over the closing 8 holes dropping 3 shots.             

         The day was Rory’s and his alone.

276   Jason Day 68.  Birdies at 6, 10 and 16 with no dropped shots, Jason had a great final 2 days and once more he was runner up in a Major.  Watch out for him in the future.

278   Kevin Chappel USA 66.  Robert Garrigus 70.  Lee Westwood 70.  Y E Yang 71.

279   Peter Hanson Sweden 67.  Sergio Garcia 70.

280   Charl Schwartzel 66.  Louis Oosthuizen 67.

          Top Amateur, T21st  284  Patrick Cantlay.

Below are some facts taken from The Daily Wrap-Up on the PGA Tour site:- 

• McIlroy's 268 sets the lowest 72-hole score at the U.S. Open, bettering the 272 by Jack Nicklaus (1980), Lee Janzen (1993), Tiger Woods (2000) and Jim Furyk (2003).

 • McIlroy's 16-under is the most strokes under-par for 72 holes in U.S. Open history. The old record of 12-under was set by Tiger Woods in 2000.

• McIlroy is the first player in U.S. Open history to get to double-digits under-par in the first two rounds.

• McIlroy has held at least a share of the lead in seven of his last eight rounds in majors.

• McIlroy (22 years, 1 month, 15 days) is the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods won the Masters in 1997 (21 years, 3 months, 14 days).

 • McIlroy is one of nine players 22-years-old and under with multiple wins with at least one of the wins being a major. The others are Tiger Woods, Gene Sarazen, Young Tom Morris, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Creavy, Johnny McDermott, Seve Ballesteros and Jerry Pate.

• The last time the U.S. Open saw back-to-back winners from Great Britain was in 1924 (Cyril Walker, England) and 1925 (William Mcfarlane, Scotland). Last year, Graeme McDowell was the first player from Northern Ireland to win the U.S. Open.

• McIlroy (2011) and Graeme McDowell (2010) both from Northern Ireland are the first back-to-back winners of the U.S. Open from the same country (outside of the U.S.) since 1920 (Edward Ray, England) and 1921 (James Barnes, England). Tiger Woods (2008) and Lucus Glover (2009) were the last back-to-back winners from the U.S.

• McIlroy is the first wire-to-wire winner (no ties) at the U.S. Open since Tiger Woods in 2002. Rocco Mediate at the 2010 Frys.com Open was the last wire-to-wire winner on TOUR.

• McIlroy is the seventh wire-to-wire (no ties) winner at the U.S. Open: McIlory (2011), Tiger Woods (2000, 20002), Tony Jacklin (1970), Ben Hogan (1953), James Barnes (1921) and Walter Hagen (1914).

• McIlroy becomes the first player to win the U.S. Open with all four rounds in the 60s since Lee Janzen in 1993.

• McIlory has shot par-or-better in 11 of his last 12 rounds in a major.

• At 22 years, 1 month, 15 days, McIlroy is the ninth youngest winner of the U.S. Open and the youngest to win the U.S. Open since Bobby Jones in 1923.

• McIlroy is the ninth winner in his 20s on TOUR this season, compared to 10 (12 total wins) winners in their 30s.

• McIlroy finished 36th in the FedExCup standings in 2010.

 • McIlroy's eight shot win is the largest on TOUR since Tiger Woods won by eight shots at the 2009 BMW Championship. Brian Gay won by 10 shots at the 2009 RBC Heritage.

Article by Martin Dawson

www.effortless-golf-swing.com