22-year-old Rory McIlroy Breaks Tiger Woods' Record With 16-under Par at U.S. Open Championship

June 24, 2011 - PRLog -- After knocking on the door at major tournaments for over a year, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy kicks the door in at the U.S. Open at Congressional, shooting 16-under to win his first major. Rory McIlroy's runaway 2011 U.S. Open victory is the culmination of a masterful week of golf. It also puts him in parts of record books that only Tiger Woods had previously seen.


McIlroy led this wire-to-wire, from his dusting of playing partners Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson the first two days to the way he finished off playing partner Y.E. Yang over the last two. It was a methodical romp. He didn't need to hole a bunch of long putts because he was simply splitting fairways in two and pelting the soft greens with his high ball flight. He hit 62 of 72 greens, another Open record at 86%.

When the inevitable was finally reality with a final par on the 18th, he hugged his gray-haired father, Gerry, the man who worked double shifts so his son could live his dream.

"There's a lot of joy with this victory and quite a bit of relief as well," he said. "More joy, though."

Among Sunday's highlights was a birdie on the first hole, just to show he wasn't going to be giving anything back to the field and a near-ace on No. 10, where he finished about a foot short of the hole after Yang had stuck his in close. That birdie gave him a 10-shot lead and got him to 17-under, the lowest any man has ever gone in a U.S. Open. He would later admit that he was trying to get to Woods' 15-shot winning margin from 2000, that he was trying to "emulate" Woods.

"Just growing up and watching him dominate the Masters in '97 ... just trying to go out there with the same intensity that he has and the same 'no lead is big enough,' " McIlroy said. "I was trying to go bogey-free today. I was trying to go out and make no mistakes and really not let anyone catch me. I'm just happy to be sitting here with the trophy that has (Woods') name on it."

How many times his name will be on golf's most coveted trophy, we shall see. But the first one couldn't have been more impressive.


McIlroy shattered a number of U.S Open scoring records for both score in relation to par and aggregate score on the way to his 16-under 268, and he threatened a number of all-time major championship records, too.

Lowest score in relation to par in a U.S. Open, 72 holes: 16-under, Rory McIlroy, 2011 U.S. Open. Tops the 12-under mark set by Tiger Woods at the 2000 U.S. Open; McIlroy was never lower than 13-under at any point in his final round.

Lowest aggregate score in a U.S. Open, 72 holes: 268, Rory McIlroy, 2011 U.S. Open. Previously: 272, held by Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Janzen, and Jim Furyk.

Lowest score in relation to par in a major championship, 72 holes: 19-under, Tiger Woods, 2000 British Open. McIlroy never got closer than 17-under late on his back nine; only Woods and Bob May have ever been 18-under or below after 18 holes of a major championship.

Lowest aggregate score in a major championship, 72 holes: 265, David Toms, 2001 PGA Championship. McIlroy's even-par back nine (two birdies, two bogeys) gave him a 268 for the week.

Largest margin of victory in a major championship: 15 strokes, Tiger Woods, 2000 U.S. Open. McIlroy never led by more than 10 strokes, and his eight-stroke margin of victory is fourth in U.S. Open history.

Fewest bogeys in a major: Three, multiple times, most recently by Tiger Woods in the 2006 PGA Championship. McIlroy made two bogeys on the back nine of his final round to lose his shot at setting this record.

McIlroy also set 36-hole and 54-hole scoring records for U.S. Open play, and set or tied 12 U.S. Open records in total. But maybe the most impressive things about McIlroy's victory are ones that aren't technically records.

McIlroy, who was laser-accurate with irons all week, may have been even better with the putter, three-putting just once (on the 17th hole in his final round) in a U.S. Open. That's virtually unheard of.

And McIlroy is the only golfer to ever be lower than 12-under in a U.S. Open, even though he had to get there on multiple occasions. He got there in the second round, then immediately double bogeyed to fall back out of that rarefied air, and did the same thing midway through his third round.

Then Rory McIlroy made a birdie to move lower than 12-under for good. And he stayed there for the final 26 holes of the Open, becoming the only golfer to ever reach 13-under, 14-under, 15-under, 16-under, or 17-under in a U.S. Open. Of all the staggering facts, figures, and statistics McIlroy compiled in his magical week, that one may be the best.

For the latest on Rory McIlroy's victory at the 2011 U.S. Open, stay with this StoryStream throughout the day. For best golf clubs, head over to Bestdiscountgolf.com.

# # #

http://www.bestdiscountgolf.com -- Find the best golf club sets at bestdiscountgolf.com. 50% OFF and free shipping worldwide on the best discount golf clubs including the best golf clubs,best golf driver,best golf irons and Complete Sets.