US media pay tribute to McIlroy

The American press have lauded Rory McIlroy following his emphatic US Open success at Congressional.

The 22-year-old posted a final round of 69 to wrap up an eight-shot success with a record low score for the tournament of 16 under par.

The achievement is all the more remarkable given the manner in which the Holywood player failed to hold on to a four-shot lead on the final day of the Masters at Augusta just two months ago, eventually finishing 10 strokes adrift of winner Charl Schwartzel.

“Authenticity speaks for itself or not at all. Rory McIlroy seems to have it, both in his golf swing and in his face,” said the Washington Post.

“From his understated gestures to his cocky-modest smile, from his twirl of the club as a perfect shot hangs in mid-flight to the image Sunday evening of his huge hug with his father beside the 18th green at Congressional Country Club, he makes us think, ’There’s the real thing’.”

The New York Times, meanwhile, praised his “killer instinct” for the way in which he ruthlessly closed out his victory.

It read: “During the first three days of the 111th United States Open, Rory McIlroy moved through the cheering galleries with a boyish smile and the occasional laugh, a young man playing near-flawless golf and enjoying the walk on the lush grounds of Congressional Country Club.

“On Sunday, however, the 22-year-old McIlroy made his way to the first tee with a newly honed stoicism. The crowd was already in a party mood, anticipating history. McIlroy played it cool.

“He knew a thing or two about golf history, especially recent results in major championships, and on Sunday, he used that knowledge to fashion a killer’s instinct that rewrote the narrative of championship golf.”

In a similar vein The Los Angeles Times said: “It took less than an hour for Rory McIlroy to effectively bury any demons from Augusta National.

“An eight-foot birdie at Congressional Country Club’s opening hole. Three holes later, another from three feet away. No one would be allowed a chance to threaten.”

USA Today took a different slant on McIlroy’s success, which will move him up to fourth in the world rankings, recounting a meeting he had with manager Chubby Chandler in the wake of his Masters meltdown.

“Ten days after his distressing meltdown in the final round of this year’s Masters, Rory McIlroy met with his agent, Chubby Chandler, in Belfast to talk all things golf.

“Shortly into the conversation, Chandler knew his young client wasn’t suffering from any psychological toll owing to his epic setback in the Masters, where he imploded with a final-round 80 that erased a four-shot, 54-hole lead and left McIlroy doubled over in despair.

“He looked at me and said, ’Honestly, I don’t know what all the fuss is about, Chub, because at the end of the day, it’s just a golf tournament and I’m 21’,” Chandler says. “He lost the green jacket but he didn’t lose perspective. He just didn’t understand all the fuss afterward.”

“The fresh-faced youngster with unruly curly hair now might have a hard time comprehending a different sort of ruckus following his four-day destruction of Congressional Country Club in the U.S. Open on Sunday.

“Already a popular lad the world over, McIlroy’s star exploded 10 miles north of the nation’s capital in the 111th edition of the U.S. Open. Fitting right in with the White House, Supreme Court, U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon, McIlroy became an iconic symbol of power on the grounds of the golf club named in honor of the U.S. Congress.”

Even the Wall Street Journal took some time out from the world of finances to pay tribute to McIlroy’s achievement.

“Young Rory McIlroy Leaves His Augusta Collapse Behind and Cruises to a Record Win at the U.S. Open”, read its headline, describing his victory as “a Beautiful Blowout, Not a Poetic Payback”.