Writers, Handicappers Putting More Pressure On Rory McIlroy At U.S. Open Than Even He Is

↵Look at anyone’s short list of who can win the U.S. Open this weekend and it seems every one includes the same handful of names: Woods, Mickelson, Westwood, McIlroy. Wait…the 21-year old kid with just two career wins and just one on the PGA Tour? Yes, he’s one of the favorites.↵

↵↵Rory McIlroy has taken the golf world by storm in the past year, spurred by his victory this season at the Quail Hollow Championship, where he beat the field – including Phil Mickelson – by four strokes after closing on the weekend with 66 and a mind-boggling 62. A hot pick in any tournament before that title, he’s managed to escalate the expectations just a wee bit.↵

↵↵McIlroy – who geared up for Pebble Beach by playing the course on his PlayStation – is playing the first two rounds with fellow phenom Ryo Ishikawa and the legendary Tom Watson, who could very well be in the mix in a major championship again this weekend. ↵

↵

↵↵With all the buzz around Watson at the majors, it’s not even close to the amount of pressure put on McIlroy. Asked if he thought he has enough game to win a major, he did a masterful job of deflecting all the pressure a question like that could pile on his shoulders:↵

↵↵⇥“I probably would be more comfortable answering that question if I had a few more wins under my belt,” he said. “But, yeah, obviously I’ve got to be going into this tournament thinking that I can win, that I have a chance to win. I feel as if my game’s in pretty good shape that if I can get myself into position going into the weekend, I should have a good chance.
 ↵⇥↵⇥“But maybe in a couple of years I’ll hopefully be a bit more advanced in my career to say, yeah, I think it’s time that I’m ready to win a major. But there’s no rush right now. I’m just looking to win my next PGA (Tour) tournament or European Tour event, but it would be great to get a good run this week and at least put myself into contention.”↵⇥

↵↵

It’s not an unfair question, by any means. McIlroy has worked himself up to 10th in the world rankings and is, of course, the hot name in the sport, so it stands to reason that he’d catch the bulk of the “next young PGA star” publicity. ↵↵It’s not just the media that has McIlroy in the marquee. SportsBetting.com has McIlroy installed at 14/1 odds, behind Mickelson (4/1), Tiger Woods (9/2) and Lee Westwood (9/1). McIlroy is tied with Padraig Harrington for fourth on the list. If you really think this could be his week, go over to Bodog where – also ranked fourth with Harrington, joining Ernie Els and Jim Furyk – McIlroy is set at 28/1, behind 10/1 for Westwood and 7/1 for Woods and Mickelson.↵

↵↵As we mentioned earlier in the week with regard to Westwood’s chances, the last European to win the U.S. Open was Tony Jacklin in 1970, which was 19 years before McIlroy was even born. And while there have been a good number of U.S. Open champions in their 20s, none in McIlroy’s lifetime have been younger than 24 years old. Still, the kid does seem to have a good head on his shoulders and, despite the early success, fame and riches, a pretty good perspective of his golf game. Heck, at 28/1?↵

↵↵(Tip of the cap to Waggle Room for the original quotes.)
↵

↵