“It’s a nice pressure to have knowing that the greatest player ever at the minute thinks that you’re going to do pretty good.”
/Rory McIlroy's opening 6-under 65 stole the show at a Congressional vulnerable to a low round in the morning and less so by the afternoon when greens got bumpy and the wind gusted, meaning his afternoon round was all that much more impressive.
Maybe it is all of that and the fact that in this age of self-entitled, overpaid underachievers in sports he holds out the promise of being the real deal with the added value of being a nice guy in the process. Here is a young man who may not only live up to the hype, but also not allow his genuine goodness to be altered by his success.
Steve Elling writes that Rees Jones wasn't surprised his patient was vulnerable.
Noted golf architect Rees Jones had been hanging around the 111th U.S. Open premises all day, and like many others, he figured that somebody was sure to light up the scoreboard at Congressional Country Club.
The conditions were right, the world's best players were on the grounds and the greens were running slower than traffic on the traffic-choked Beltline, compared to the Open's baked-out norm. Hours passed.
History has shown that when mega-low scores crop at major championships, it's frequently in the first round, before the pressure builds. Jones assumed somebody would make a wicked run at Congressional, maybe even threaten the Grand Slam scoring record of 63. Then absolutely nothing happened.
Late in the afternoon, Jones, who redesigned Congressional in advance of the Open, looked up as Ulsterman Rory McIlroy was making yet another birdie.
"All day we've been waiting, and now it looks like he might do it," Jones said.
Bob Harig looks at Rory's recent run at the last four majors.
He shot a major championship record-tying 63 at St. Andrews last summer to hold the first-round lead in the British Open, only to be undone by a gale-induced 80 in the second round. He still finished third.
At the PGA Championship, he was tied for the lead on the back nine and had a 15-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole that would have put him in a playoff. He tied for third.
The Masters, of course, became legendary for his Sunday meltdown. Tied for the lead on the 10th tee, he shot 43 on the way to an 80 and finished 10 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel.
And here he is again, contending at his fourth straight major.
Robert Lusetich explains how Rory is feeding off supportive comments received from Jack Nicklaus.
“It’s a nice pressure to have knowing that the greatest player ever at the minute thinks that you’re going to do pretty good.”
McIlroy will do well to heed Jack’s advice.
“He emphasized so much to me about not making mistakes. That was his big thing.
“He said people lost a lot more majors and gave them to him than he actually won. It was a good piece of advice to have.”
