Hip Hip, Ror-ay!

Youngest U.S. Open winner in the last century. Lowest 36, 54 and 72-hole scores in a U.S. Open. Quickest to reach double digits under par in the U.S. Open at just 26 holes. These are just a few of the many records 22-year-old Rory McIlroy broke en route to a truly incredulous win at the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Maryland. McIlroy, the second consecutive Northern Ireland-born player to win the tournament after Graeme McDowell took home the trophy last year, won his first of what could be many majors yesterday after an 8-stroke victory. McIlroy was the topic of discussion after an egregious collapse at the Masters in April, but was shining in a positive way this time around after firing a total score of 268 and -16 in the second major of the year.

This U.S. Open was unlike any other, with a first-time winner, 23-year-old runner up and no Tiger Woods. Jason Day played outstanding, especially over the weekend going -9 after the cut, on his way to his second consecutive second-place finish in a major. His 276 would have been enough to win 26 of the last 30 U.S. Opens, and he finished the tournament off with 45 straight bogeyless holes! PGA Tour rookie Kevin Chappell finished third after shooting a 76 in the opening round of his first career major. The two most recent South Africans to win a major, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen, finished with solid, under-68 final rounds and tied for ninth at -4. But this wasn't their tournament, nor was it Chappell's, or even Jason Day's. It was Rory's. From start to finish. He didn't bogey until the 18th hole of his second round. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation. A sun never set when Rory was less than three shots ahead of second place, and when he took his hat off on the 18th green on Saturday, eight strokes separated him from the next best score. Throughout the tournament, McIlroy showed how resilient he really is, and it blew everyone away.

McIlroy is already getting comparisons to Tiger Woods. The way he played this past week, how could he not? Golfers are not supposed to make the U.S. Open look this easy. It's plausible to see players eventually rebound from disasters like McIlroy's final round of 80 in the Masters, but not in a major tournament and most certainly not by winning the next major by eight strokes. There's something different about this kid, and I noticed it after the Masters meltdown. He's more mature than you'd expect a 22-year-old to be. He told reporters that Masters Sunday was a character-building day for him and that he would come out stronger, and yesterday was just evidence of why he was right. It's tough to say whether he'll get to 14 majors, although it is possible. What seems safe to say is that there will definitely be more of this to come. Maybe it won't be this record-breaking, and maybe it will be much closer than eight strokes. But looking forward, McIlroy and his win is terrific for the PGA and golf as a whole, and it gives us a preview of what we may see in the future. Rory McIlroy is no longer a PGA novice: he is a man, and he showed it on and off the course this weekend.