Matured McIlroy Majors at US Open

By Brendon Hanley Jun 20, 2011, 1:08 GMT

Bethesda, Maryland - After breezing to his first Major championship victory at the US Open on Sunday, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy lifted the trophy at the Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland and showed something that did not creep into his play all week: nerves.

Visibly emotional, the 22-year-old struggled to find words to describe his tournament as he received the trophy after the 18th hole shortly after sharing a hug with his dad on Father's Day.

'Happy Father's Day! This one is for you,' he said before also thanking his mother, who was back home.'

His 16-under score was a fair reflection of his stunning performance that re-wrote the US Open record books and has many struggling to find superlatives after his first Major championship and just his third professional win.

He set or tied 12 US Open records, including the fastest to double digits under par, the most strokes under par, and the lowest-ever 72-hole score - beating the previous record by four strokes.

His eight-shot victory from Australian Jason Day makes him the youngest US Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923 and the second youngest Major winner since World War Two behind Tiger Woods.

It was an extraordinarily controlled performance by the youngster, particularly given that he had been saddled with a reputation for struggling under pressure.

After tying the St. Andrews course record on Thursday in last year's British Open, he shot an 80 in the second round to take himself off the pace, although he ended up finishing tied for third.

Later in 2010, he missed out on a chance to win the PGA Championship after three-putting on the 15th hole as a co-leader, which led him to fall short of the play-off between Bubba Watson and eventual winner Martin Kaymer, but again, he finished third.

At this year's Masters in April, McIlroy infamously crumbled on Sunday by shooting an 80 after leading the event by four strokes going into the final round. He finished ten strokes off the pace and tied for 15th in that event, and one of the questions coming into the US Open was how the youngster would recover from that collapse.

Buoyed by an adoring crowd - even inspiring the American gallery to repeatedly chant 'Let's go, Rory, let's go' - the babyface assassin put all doubts to bed and proved that he could hold a lead on the biggest stage. The Holywood native put his calm, consistent four rounds down to growing from his previous set-backs.

'I think I've changed immensely. I wasn't quite thoughtless on the golf course out there last year, but you need to mature as a golfer. All of the experiences I've had in the last year have helped me a lot.

The curly-headed McIlroy said that he dealt with the pressure of playing with the lead by concentrating on each stroke, setting himself small goals and avoiding glimpses of the leaderboard.

'I really focused on the process of hitting a good shot and making a good swing. That's what I've been trying to do, lose myself in that shot at that moment in time.'

After being briefly ranked as the number one amateur in the world, McIlroy turned professional in 2007 and immediately began to impress on the European tour, finishing third in his first event at the moneyed Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

At the end of 2008 he did not take the chance to win his first title at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland when he missed a short put on the last hole and another in a sudden-death playoff to finish second. He claimed his first professional victory, the Dubai Desert Classic, at the start of 2009, finishing ahead of Justin Rose by one stroke.

He proved that he could challenge at the Majors in 2009 when he shot four solid rounds to finish three-under at the PGA Championship, tied for third and five strokes off the pace set by Yang Yong-Eun.

In 2010, McIlroy became the youngest player since Tiger Woods in 1996 to win a PGA Tour event by shooting a course record 62 in the final round at Quail Hollow.

He capped that performance by sinking a 43-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, and later in the year he showed steel in helping the Europeans regain the Ryder Cup as a rookie by sinking a putt on 18 to halve his final day match with Stewart Cink.

But no matter his promise, nothing could prepare the golf world for the dominating performance that he put on all week at the US Open. For McIlroy, he already had his sites set on further glory.

'This is my first taste of major championship glory, and I want to get some more now.

'To win one so early in your career is huge, as it takes the pressure off. Now I want to move on, and try to put myself in a good position in the remaining two major championships this year. I am happy to go into the second half of the year full of confidence.'