Rory McIlroy Aims For 2011 U.S. Open Title, Slew Of Golf’s Major Records

Rory McIlroy looks all but unbeatable at the 2011 U.S. Open. And if he keeps on painting his scorecard red at Congressional Golf Club, he might erase a few of golf’s time-honored records.

McIlroy is 14-under and at 199 through 54 holes; both that aggregate score and the score in relation to par are U.S. Open records. The 72-hole records for aggregate score and relation to par are 272 and 12-under, respectively; Tiger Woods holds the latter and shares the former with Jack Nicklaus and Lee Janzen.

McIlroy would own both records — claiming a record shared by arguably the two greatest golfers ever — with a 1-over 72 on Sunday. And if McIlroy goes lower still?

The lowest score in relation to par at a major, ever, was Tiger’s 19-under bravura performance at the 2000 British Open at St. Andrews. Woods also has three of the four 18-under performances at majors in golf history, and Bob May, who lost to him in a playoff at the 2000 PGA Championship, has the fourth. If McElroy can fire a 5-under 66, he’ll tie Woods, while a 6-under 65 would snatch the record for his own.

There are also some non-record distinctions at stake. McIlroy, with a victory, would make it two straight U.S. Open wins for golfers from Northern Ireland, after Graeme McDowell’s 2010 U.S. Open title. And a McIlroy win would make it six straight non-American golfers in the ranks of distinct first-time major winners, extending the longest streak of non-American first-time major winners since 1907, when golf was dominated by Scots.

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