June 19, 2011 - Bethesda, MD (AHN)

Rory McIlroy didn't win the U.S. Open Sunday, he manhandled it, beat it up and played better than any player in the 111-year history of America's national championship.

McIlroy didn't beat the field, he buried the competition, he took all hope away from the rest and in the process, set or tied 12 different U.S. Open records.

The 22-year-old from the little town of Holywood in the small realm of Northern Ireland became the youngest winner of the modern era in this championship and went farther under par than any of the long list of winners before him. He closed with a 2-under 68 and a 268 total that was 16-under par and blew away the 12-under mark set by Tiger Woods in 2000 at Pebble Beach.

The humble son of Gerry and Rose McIlroy set the all-time mark for lowest 36-hole score, lowest 54-hole score and lowest 72 hole score and, of course, most strokes under par. Those were just a few of the dozen.

In the process of taking his first major by storm, McIlroy took the ghosts of his final-round collapse at the Masters last April and buried them deep underneath the massive Congressional clubhouse.

He started the day leading by eight and finished leading by eight. In the process, he led by as many as 10 and he left little doubt that he'd win when he shot 2-under par on the front nine then at the par-3 10th, his 6-iron shot landed 10 feet past the hole and began rolling back and stopped a mere three inches short of a hole-in-one.

He tapped in and the man they call "Rors" on the European Tour, got roars and more roars from the massive crowds as he made his way around the back nine on his march to victory.

He made his first bogey of the day when he missed a seven-footer for par at the 12th, then had a careless three-putt at the 17th when things were long decided. He offset those with the near ace at 10 and another birdie at the 16th.

As he was all week, he was simply surgical with the round, hitting 16-of-18 greens and grinding up Congressional like it was a neighborhood muny.

As he strode down the 18th, he spotted his father in the crowd and cracked a smile for the ages.

"Overall, the whole week has been incredible," he said as he hoisted the Open trophy. "I'm so happy to be holdin' the trophy."

His game plan was simple, keep doing what he'd been doing all week. "I knew how good Tiger (Woods) was winning by 15 at Pebble Beach. I went out there and tried to emulate him."

He did more than emulate Woods, he went lower than Woods by four shots. "I knew what I needed to do to win today," McIlroy said. "I found out a lot about my game at Augusta and I put it into practice today. When I made the two at 10 then par at 11 I knew I was on my way. I played solid in from there."

McIlroy's magnificent week overshadowed runnerup Jason Day, who closed the weekend with rounds of 65-68 and finished second for the second major in a row. Day shot an 8-under par total of 276, which was good enough to win every U.S. Open except for two.

PGA Tour rookie Kevin Chappell was the low American. He finished with a 66 and shot 6-under-par 278 and tied for sixth with Lee Westwood (70) and Y.E. Yang, McIlroy's playing partner, who shot 71.

McIlroy followed his countryman Graeme McDowell into the winner's circle, making it two straight U.S. Opens for Northern Ireland. It was the first time since 1920 and 1921 that two men from a country outside the U.S. won back-to-back titles. Englishmen Ted Ray (1920) and Jim Barnes (1921) were the last to do it.

"For such a small nation to win two U.S. Opens is pretty special," McIlroy acknowledged.

"This one's for you," McIlroy said as he held the trophy up and looked over at his father. "Happy Father's day! And I also have to mention my mum who's watching at home."

And he didn't forget his friends back home, either. "I know my friends back home will be partying. I can't wait to get home and join them," he said with a big smile.

With the 111th Open in the books, the books now carry the name of the youngest winner since Bobby Jones in 1923.

And the newest U.S. Open champ has a long list of records to take home.

It was simply Rory McIlroy's week with a lot of roars for "Rors."

Copyright © 2011 AHN - All Rights Reserved