Backspin: McIlroy will take the game to new heights

text size

It would be a little soon to declare Rory McIlroy's victory Sunday at the U.S. Open as some sort of turn-of-the-page or end-of-one-era and the beginning of another. But we certainly seem to be nearing that point.

Just look at the leaderboard, which was littered with red numbers (a story for another day) after McIlroy, 22, became the youngest U.S. Open champion in 88 years.

The runner-up? Jason Day, all 23 years of him. Two majors this year, two second-place finishes for the Aussie.

Among the four players who tied for third? Kevin Chappell, the 24-year-old former UCLA standout who also tied Robert Garrigus as the low American on the board last week.

Not far behind Chappell was the guy who won the year's first major, Charl Schwartzel. He's just 26 years old and he tied for ninth.

McIlroy's victory marks the fourth straight major won by a player in his 20s.

"I think we are," Schwartzel said when asked if we're witnessing a changing of the guard. "There's really exciting golfers coming up and the guys are playing well."

Padraig Harrington declared that McIlroy will be the one to chase down Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major championships. Let's not get ahead of ourselves, though McIlroy is clearly the best of the bunch.

Just ask Geoff Ogilvy, who declared that McIlroy would soon be the best player in the world. That was two years ago.

Luke Donald, who leads the FedExCup standings and sits atop the Official World Golf Ranking, has played arguably better than anyone over the last two years. But he, like everyone else, knows what he's looking at in McIlroy.

"I think he has probably the most talent I've ever seen from a golfer," Donald said. "Lovely to watch him play, such a fluid motion, and he hits it far."

And he appears ready to take the game far into the future.

Stock up

Jason Day: HeHow good has the young Australian been? He's finished in the top 10 in five of his last six starts with two of those being runner-up finishes at major championships. And he's been very good in the final round with a 68 or better on five of those six Sundays. FedExCup Rank: 13 (26 last week) Sergio Garcia: Last year, Garcia didn't have a single top-10 in a stroke-play event. This year, he's already got two, including one last week at the U.S. Open, where he tied for seventh. That gives Garcia four finishes in the top 20 in his last five starts. I wouldn't be surprised if he contended at the British Open. FedExCup Rank: 62 (82 last week) Matt Kuchar: The bad news was Kuchar actually finished outside the top 10. The good news was he still tied for 14th in what's become simply an extension of last season. In his last 41 starts on TOUR, Kuchar has 19 top-10s. Not too shabby. FedExCup rank: 4 (4 last week).

Stock down

Paul Casey: He's missed the cut in his last three starts on TOUR, during which he was a collective 9 over. Casey hasn't fared much better across the pond, either, with zero top-10s in three starts. Not exactly the type of stuff you expect from a player of Casey's caliber. FedExCup rank: 134 (132 last week) Ernie Els: It's been a rough couple of months for Els, who is not only employing the long putter in hopes of rediscovering what was once a very good stroke with the flat stick, but has now missed the cut in three of his last four starts. Els hasn't contended anywhere this season and it might be a while before he does. FedExCup rank: 122 (122 last week) Justin Rose: The last five starts on TOUR haven't exactly been great for Rose, who has missed his last two cuts and has just one finish in the top 40 in his last five tournaments. That's a departure from earlier in the year, when he had back-to-back top-5s and followed that with a tie for 11th at the Masters. Maybe he's on the verge of turning things around. FedExCup rank: 34 (31 last week).

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. Last September, I got a chance to spend an afternoon with McIlroy during one of his dozen or so corporate days during which he gave a clinic, answered some questions and played a little golf. There was a lot of downtime throughout the course of the day so I got to see McIlroy with his guard down. We talked about everything from his then-controversial comments about Tiger Woods, to his favorite beer and favorite golf courses, to his golf swing and any other number of topics.

What I came away with that day was not a whole lot different than what most everyone saw from him this week at Congressional: McIlroy is well-mannered, polite, sincere, self-aware and incredibly talented. He's also a fast learner. After his heartbreaking loss at the Masters, he didn't cry or stomp off. He simply talked to his caddie and his manager about what went wrong and why as he made his way through the parking lot at Augusta National.

"I was very honest with myself and I knew what I needed to do differently," said McIlroy, adding that among those changes were talking more to his caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald, during the final round and of course a different putting routine in which he got rid of the three practice strokes he used to take. "I had a clear picture in my mind of what I needed to do and where my focus needed to be when I got myself in that position again."

2. Graeme McDowell said McIlroy is the best player he's ever seen. Strong words, but they should be prefaced by the point that McDowell wasn't yet a pro when Tiger Woods was at his best.

3. I'm not taking anything away from McIlroy's performance -- what he did was historic on so many levels -- but facts are facts and the fact is Congressional lacked a little bit of the teeth that a U.S. Open course usually has. Blame Mother Nature. The conditions in Washington D.C. prevented it from being brutally difficult, which is why 20 players finished under par. Even McIlroy admitted it didn't quite feel like a U.S. Open in some ways. By comparison, when Tiger Woods won at Pebble Beach in 2000 he was the only one under par for the week.

4. You know how you know you're liked and respected? When one of the guys trying to beat you -- in this case McDowell -- leaves a note in your locker before the final round that asks what course you're playing and to keep it up. Yes, the two are good friends but they're also competitors (see: Lee Westwood's comments after the third round) and the fact that McDowell did that says as much about him as it does McIlroy.

5. McIlroy wasn't the only player to record four sub-par rounds at Congressional. Robert Garrigus pulled off that trick, too. Asked what he would have thought had someone told him before the week started that he would finish at 6 under but 10 strokes off the lead, Garrigus replied: "I'd have asked them what they were smoking, definitely. It's unbelievable."

6. Stat of the Week I: Five. That's the number of consecutive majors won by players from outside the U.S. -- the most ever. It's also the number of majors won by players from Ireland (or Northern Ireland) in the last 16 majors.

7. Stat of the Week II: Eleven. The number of different major winners over the last 11 majors. Somehow I don't think that will continue for much longer, not with McIlroy getting his first one out of the way.

8. Among Rory's many well-wishers Sunday night: Rickie Fowler. Unfortunately for Fowler, he'll have to wait for another chance at his first win after tweaking his knee and missing the cut at the U.S. Open. Fowler will skip this week's Travelers Championship as a result..

9. Jason Day is not-so-quietly building a pretty impressive career. Golf's future looks pretty secure right now.

Forward Spin

Lots of birdies. That's what it's going to take to win the Travelers Championship, which always feels like a breath of fresh air after the stifling conditions of a U.S. Open. Last year, Bubba Watson made it the site of his first career win with an emotional playoff victory over Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank. That's about as eclectic a group as you can have, but the one common thread was that all three were able to string together a number of birdies at various points. The field is also pretty strong, especially considering it's a week removed from a major, with Nick Watney, Lucas Glover, Padraig Harrington, Anthony Kim, Hunter Mahan., Geoff Ogilvy, Ian Poulter -- all in the field at Congressional last week -- all in the field outside Hartford.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

TOURNAMENT: Travelers Championship HOLE: The par-4, 296-yard 15th at TPC River Highlands WHAT HAPPENED: A surprising number of players take the driver out and let it fly at the pin. In windy conditions, the pros often hit an iron off the tee, leaving a full wedge. This hole is one of the two PGATOUR.COM will be featuring during LIVE@ this week. Kodak Challenge standings