While I don't think anybody is surprised that Rory McIlroy has won a major championship, I'm sure there were a few raised eyebrows that he was able to win the U.S. Open by a whopping eight strokes. Just as I'm sure it turned a few heads when he was able to rebound from the worst final round by the leader at the Masters, when he fired 80 on Sunday to blow a four shot lead and to come in fifteenth.I have to admit, I was a little surprised he was able to pull it off, despite having said in my predictions last week that if he could have a solid first round, he'd win. But to be honest, I didn't think he would have a great first round! And I definitely didn't think he'd win by so many if it were too happen.
Now, less than 24 hours from his victory, the questions have started to pop up, 'how many Majors can Rory win?' Of course this always happens when a young player wins a Major. Remember Sergio Garcia coming in 2nd in the 1999 PGA Championship? All of the sudden, all the talk was of a great rivalry between Tiger and Sergio, one that would be reminiscent of Nicklaus-Palmer. Of course, that was the highlight of Sergio's career, and nothing ever materialized.
So will Rory McIlroy be the next Shaun Micheel, a one hit wonder, never to be heard from again? Will he be Ben Curtis, Todd Hamilton, Jeff Sluman, Scott Simpson, Larry Mize, Bob Tway, or Bill Rogers? Last night on ESPN I heard the announcer predict Rory would win 'seven or eight majors.' Pretty lofty predictions, considering, he has only won one, and considering that Tiger is the only person to win more than six majors in the past thirty years.
But, there are some differences between McIlroy and those one hit wonders. First off, McIlroy is young. Really young. At only 22 years old, he's the youngest U.S. Open winner since Bobby Jones, and the youngest major winner since Tiger Woods' first victory at the 1997 Masters. Majors are tough to win, and there's a reason few 'kids' ever do. They need the experience first, to be able to handle the pressure that comes with such an event. But McIlroy doesn't seem to have any trouble with this. Yes, he blew a lead at the Masters in April, but he showed how resilient he is mentally to be able to come back and win the U.S. Open in such a dominating fashion. Everybody's going to have some bad blow ups, but it's how well they rebound that counts.
Secondly, unlike most of the above list of one and dones, McIlroy did not come out of nowhere to win this tournament. Unlike Ben Curtis, who had never even played in a Major before, or Todd Hamilton who had been languishing in obscurity in Japan for ten years, Rory McIlroy is a known commodity. He's been ranked in the top 10 in the World for almost two years, has won tournaments in the US and Europe before, and most importantly, he has finished well in previous Majors. In only 10 Major appearances as a professional, McIlroy has won once, finished 3rd three times and tenth once. In addition, he held the 54 hole lead at the Masters this year, led the British Open in 2010 after firing 63 in the opening round, and missed a playoff with Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer by one stroke at last year's PGA Championship. To put it another way, he's been at least tied for the lead at one point on Sunday in three of the previous four majors.
So maybe it's a little bold to predict this kid will win seven or eight majors, but then again, maybe it isn't. Could McIlroy be the 'next Tiger'? Or will he turn out like so many players who were dubbed the 'next Nicklaus', most of whom never lived up to their lofty expectations. Of course only time will tell, but I can say right now that I know who my favorite to win the Open next month will be.
-TheRev
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