US Open a cakewalk for McIlroy

No praise is high enough for Rory McIlroy. His win at the US Open was just as sensational, if not better, as the one by Tiger Woods when he truly announced his arrival on the world golf scene with that 15-shot triumph at Pebble Beach. If there was any doubt about Rory McIlroy's talent and temperament, his phenomenal performance at the Congressional this week should shut up his critics for good. Of course, shooting 16-under par in a US Open set-up is mind-blowing. But what is even more amazing is the way he came back from the horrors of his final-round 80 at the Augusta Masters earlier in the year. Superb round For me, the key was how he handled the first round. There were no signs of him carrying over any ghosts from Augusta as he opened with a superb round of six-under par 65. Once he seized the lead, the next big challenge for him was how he handled the back nine on Sunday. After all, the par-3 10th and the 11th holes are two of the toughest holes at Congressional. And then there would be the memories of the 10th hole at Augusta National. But absolutely no such problems for Rory. He started his round with a birdie, and the defining moment was that brilliant shot to 10 feet on the 10th, and the resulting birdie. Even though some experts are pointing out that Congressional hardly resembled a US Open course, nothing can belittle Rory's achievement. Playing easy or not, the fact remains nobody else even threatened a double-digit sub-par score. And considering that players of the calibre of world No 1 Luke Donald and multiple Major champion Phil Mickelson struggled to get going, it just shows that conditions were not exactly easy. Of course, if McIlroy made it seem like a walk at a municipal course, it is only because of the way he played. So, now that he has won his first Major, what next for Rory McIlroy? I tend to agree with Padraig Harrington's observation that he has the best chance to threaten Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 Majors. Of course, nothing can be said of the future, but considering his age and talent, Rory's the man. As we celebrate McIlroy's success, it is easy to overlook two names right behind him on the leaderboard — Jason Day and Lee Westwood.