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<\/a>Brilliant, Calm and Unstoppable--Rory McIlroy<\/p><\/div>\n
Sometimes the ethnic pairings were a little awkward\u2014American Anthony Kim, whose ancestors are Korean, in a group with Korean Y. A. Yang and Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa, as if Japan and Korea are somehow the same, even though the historical enmity between the two countries runs deep.\u00a0 They could have created an all-Kim pairing from among the four Kims qualifying for the Open, surely a surname record.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The pairings accomplished what I believe the USGA intended, stimulating excitement and \u00a0interest in a wide array of players, especially in the absence of Tiger Woods, who always attracted the largest galleries.<\/p>\n
Paul Azinger, whose acerbic observations add a welcome element of bitters to the generally savory blend of Open commentary, crabbed aloud that these nationality-based pairings would somehow confer an advantage on the international players.\u00a0\u00a0 Playing with someone they know well, Zinger said, would help them relax.\u00a0 He singled out the Swedes and the Italians, the latter group including not merely countrymen but the fratelli<\/em> Molanari.\u00a0\u00a0 This was early in the first round, when players from both of those groups were scoring well\u2014Francesco Molinari was three under after four holes, and Edfors and Stenson each three under after eight.<\/p>\n Professional golfers are trained to ignore outside influences, although whether or not they can succeed in doing so is an enduring challenge\u2014perhaps the<\/em> issue in championship golf.\u00a0\u00a0 There were many pairings of Americans, by the way, but no one saw fit to comment on that\u2014it\u2019s the default reality, so it seems \u201cnormal.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 Webb Simpson, Bill Hass and Jonathan Byrd, for example, played together in the first two rounds, as did Chad Campbell, Harrison Frazar and Marc Turnesa.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Did they have an advantage?<\/p>\n None of the pundrity seemed to think so, suggesting that the advantage of national pairings somehow is conferred only on \u201cforeigners.\u00a0 It\u2019s highly unlikely that any of the pairings had an impact on the scoring, though perhaps someone with a richer set of statistical skills than I possess might discover a trend.\u00a0\u00a0 Given that 72 of the 156 players in the field at the 2011 US Open are international players, discovering any benefit in their foreignness other than skill and courage on the course seems doubtful.<\/p>\n What is not at issue is the extraordinary play in the first two rounds of the young Irishman, Rory McIlroy.<\/p>\n The USGA did not create an Irish threesome, although a group consisting of defending champ Graeme McDowell, three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, and McIlroy would have been the most brilliant on the Championship.\u00a0 But the USGA stuck with its traditional approach to the champion\u2019s pairing: McDowell in the first two rounds with USGA Amateur champ Peter Uihlein and the Open (ie, \u201cBritish\u201d) champion, Louis Oosthuizen.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy, playing with Dustin Johnson, who withered as McIlroy flourished, and whose power was matched by a man who seems tiny in the big American\u2019s presence, and Phil Mickelson, of whom much was expected but who visibly deflated when his very first tee shot, on the fearsome par 3 tenth, found the water on Thursday, quickly obliterated any evidence of an enduring effect from his final round meltdown at the Masters.\u00a0 McIlroy was flawless until his 36th<\/sup> hole, when he double-bogeyed after trying an aggressive shot from the rough after his first poor drive in two days, when a cautious approach would likely have yielded nothing worse than a bogey.\u00a0 Still, he takes a six shot lead into the third round, set the all-time two round scoring record, and became the first player ever to reach 13 under par at a US Open.\u00a0\u00a0 Not bad for a 22 year old player who came to this event with the specter of his Masters\u2019 collapse dominating all commentary and any expectations for him.\u00a0 And he did it playing with foreigners.<\/p>\n So how would Rory do against the \u201cteams\u201d from Sweden, Spain and Italy?Rory shot 66-65 for a total of 131.\u00a0 But if you take his best scores on each hole from the two rounds, how would it compare, for example, to the best-ball of the Swedes –Henrik Stenson, Johan Edfors, and Fredrik Jacobson?\u00a0 How about against the Spaniards, Sergio Garcia, Miquel-Angel Jimenez, and Alvaro Quiros?\u00a0 Or against the Molinari brothers and Matteo Manassero?\u00a0 Remember, these are not the outrider qualifiers, but seasoned touring professionals.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a pretty astonishing comparison, given that it is three top professionals\u2019 balls against one player over \u00a0the course of two rounds.<\/p>\n The Spaniards collectively posted a best ball of 61, the worst of the three groups, although both Garcia and Quiros made the cut.\u00a0 The Swedes were next, with a combined score of 60, and all three of them made it to the weekend. \u00a0\u00a0(With identical 142s, Stenson and Edfors are paired in the third round\u2014another advantage for the Swedes, Zinger?) \u00a0The Italians had the best collective score, 58, even though their average score was 73.16, compared to Rory\u2019s average score over two rounds of 65.5.\u00a0 Edoardo Molinari and Manassero are also playing on the weekend.<\/p>\n Rory\u2019s \u201cbest ball\u201d over his two rounds was 60\u2014he birdied or eagled 9 of the 18 holes, equaling par on the rest.<\/p>\n So by this measure, one young Irishman is the superior of three Spaniards and the equal of three Swedes, but not quite up to a triumvirate of Italians.<\/p>\n What will today bring?\u00a0\u00a0 Rory McIlroy will stand up to the pressure this time, I am convinced, and on Sunday afternoon will take his place as a champion in the new, improved, fan-friendly and marvelously spirited, contemporary, Mike Davis-influenced version of the US Open.<\/p>\n Saturday Night Update:<\/p>\n Rory’s third round was pretty much a walk in the park. \u00a0The only drama was in the agonies of the commentators trying to find a story line that would inject some drama into the championship. \u00a0It was especially delicate talking to the other great players who at this point are so far behind McIlroy. \u00a0World number one Lee Westwood had a great round of 65 but remains 9–nine!–strokes back. \u00a0Bob Costas asked him if he still had a chance and he had to say yes, because that is what competitors say, but without uttering the graceless words “but only if Rory has another Augusta collapse.” \u00a0 \u00a0O.f course there is no way of knowing what Rory will feel like on Sunday. \u00a0Will the memory of the Masters intrude? \u00a0I don’t think so, in part because McIlroy handled the aftermath of his collapse so well–he didn’t shirk, he didn’t hide, he didn’t try to bully his interrogators into silence, as the world’s most recent dominant player would have. \u00a0He calmly answered questions with intelligence and poise, regaining his emotional equilibrium quickly. \u00a0The quality of his game, the skills that put him in the final group at Augusta on Sunday hadn’t abandoned him, he had simply had a bad day, which under the pressure of a major enlarged into an corrosive mess. \u00a0 But he has clearly recovered, and tomorrow he will continue his march towards greatness. \u00a0By the end of the final round on Sunday, only Tiger’s peerless performance at Pebble will belong in the same discussion of the greatest major triumphs ever with Rory’s four days at Congressional. \u00a0At 22, McIlroy has the game, the temperament, and the focus to launch himself onto a path towards matching Tiger’s 14 majors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"