BETHESDA, Md. -- So much for those scars from Augusta National, where Rory McIlroy turned watershed victory into humiliating defeat with a final-round, dead-man-walking 80.
If blowing a four-shot lead at the Masters was supposed to deflate the 22-year-old wunderkind from Northern Ireland, he obviously didn't get the message.
Playing the kind of brilliant golf that had Ernie Els gushing earlier this week about the kid's potential to "change history," McIlroy shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 in the first round of the 111th U.S. Open on Thursday.
While playing partners Phil Mickelson (74) and Dustin Johnson (75) hit it all over the lot, McIlroy was a study in clinical precision, hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation at Congressional Country Club and making three birdies on each nine. It was like watching two Double-A pitchers trying to throw strikes and Sandy Koufax painting the black.
"All you're trying to concentrate on is your own game," McIlroy said. "It's a major championship, and the toughest major championship of them all is the U.S. Open. You can't let any other thoughts get in your head. You're just trying to concentrate entirely on your game and trying to get that ball around the course in as few strokes as possible."
McIlroy took a three-shot lead over Y.E. Yang of South Korea and Charl Schwartzel, the South African who took advantage of McIlroy's collapse to win the Masters in April.
The three-shot cushion is the largest first-round lead at the Open since 1976, when amateur Mike Reid led four players by three shots.
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http://www.mercurynews.com/golf/ci_18297038?nclick_check=1
If blowing a four-shot lead at the Masters was supposed to deflate the 22-year-old wunderkind from Northern Ireland, he obviously didn't get the message.
Playing the kind of brilliant golf that had Ernie Els gushing earlier this week about the kid's potential to "change history," McIlroy shot a bogey-free 6-under 65 in the first round of the 111th U.S. Open on Thursday.
While playing partners Phil Mickelson (74) and Dustin Johnson (75) hit it all over the lot, McIlroy was a study in clinical precision, hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation at Congressional Country Club and making three birdies on each nine. It was like watching two Double-A pitchers trying to throw strikes and Sandy Koufax painting the black.
"All you're trying to concentrate on is your own game," McIlroy said. "It's a major championship, and the toughest major championship of them all is the U.S. Open. You can't let any other thoughts get in your head. You're just trying to concentrate entirely on your game and trying to get that ball around the course in as few strokes as possible."
McIlroy took a three-shot lead over Y.E. Yang of South Korea and Charl Schwartzel, the South African who took advantage of McIlroy's collapse to win the Masters in April.
The three-shot cushion is the largest first-round lead at the Open since 1976, when amateur Mike Reid led four players by three shots.
Read More
http://www.mercurynews.com/golf/ci_18297038?nclick_check=1
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