2011 US Open: Young trailblazers grab the spotlight from veterans
Some of the finest players in the US Open last week, turned out to be the young blazing guns from around the world, than the usual gang of veteran players who have dominated the sport for decades.
22-year-old Rory McIlroy topped the leaderboard with an all time lowest score of 16-under to lift first major title of his career. Touted as the new “Tiger Woods”, McIlroy has made phenomenal runs in most of his major bids, finishing for a joint third, twice
in the PGA Championship, a joint third in the Open Championship last year and a joint 15th in Masters this year where he gave away his four shot lead in the final round.
McIlroy seemed a man from the future, who took the course by storm and cleared the field with a staggering eight shots, unprecedented in the history of the event. US Open, commonly known to have the toughest course in the sport, played like a six-hole practice
truf for the young McIlroy, who led the tournament throughout the week.
This is for the first time all four major titles are held by the players in their 20’s, something which beacons towards the young trail blazing golfers who are poised to alter the history in the near future.
Australian Jason Day, although far behind McIlroy’s 16-under, finished for an outright second for the season, digging deeper in the world rankings. Day’s performance may have been more seasoned and strong considering that he was constantly challenged by
the rest of the field for the second slot, when many had already accepted the fact that McIlroy would be running away with the title.
"Obviously it's my first U.S. Open," Day said."Very excited that I finished second. I'm not going to go home and cry because I got whooped."
Day started his bid for the major titles last year and has already bagged stunning finishes in them. He finished tied for 10th in PGA Championship last year when Martin Kaymer recorded his first major title. Just a year older than McIlroy, Day
is the new torch-bearer for the Aussie golf on the International platform. He had finished his 72nd hole with an eight-under and was closely watching Y.E Yang move into contention for the second spot.
Yang, who had been trailing McIlroy in the previous rounds, stumbled with a bogey on the 18th when he tried to pull-hook his shot to sink his ball. The only Asian player who has won a major, was little deterred with his slide down the leaderboard
and vowed to continue his struggle in the coming majors.
"I thought the winning score would be five under to eight under this week," Yang said later. "I tried to target my own game towards that number. I achieved that. Unfortunately, some guy shot the h**l out of it for the whole week. At the same time, I've missed
the cut in my last two U.S. Opens. There are a lot more positives than there are negatives."
Kevin Chappell and Robert Garrigus were the only notable American players who performed well in their national event. Chappell, the former NCAA champion, closed his final round with 66 to finish for a joint third alongside Yang, Garrigus and world number
two Lee Westwood.
Garrigus, who has finished runner-up at Memphis and secured two runner-up finishes on the Nationwide Tour, finished for a 70 on the final day. He has one PGA Tour win on his belt.
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