With Tiger Woods sitting out the 2011 U.S. Open due to a sore knee and Achilles tendon, interest in the tournament seemed sparse at best. As the former number one continues to plummet down the world rankings list, overall enthusiasm for the sport, itself, has been waning. Fortunately for advertisers, networks and other entities that rely on the sport's popularity, a new player appears to be emerging as the next golf great.

 

As the Open began, few expected to see any from the remaining field hang any special scores; but some predicted that if anyone was to buck such low expectations, it might be a talented 22-year-old from Northern Ireland named Rory McIlroy.

 

You may remember young McIlroy for his historic collapse at the Masters just a few weeks ago in which he soared to an astounding lead after the first three days only to squander every bit of it and more in the final day. Many predicted McIlroy would suffer a permanent catastrophic psychological impact that could take years to rebound from. If his performance during the first two rounds of the U.S. Open is any indication, such doomsayers are plenty wrong.

 

Putting his previous failure behind, McIlroy rewrote huge sections of the 111-year-old course record book--much of it written by the aforementioned Woods. Soaring to an 8-shot lead in record fashion, McIlroy posted the lowest 36-hole score ever recorded at the U.S. Open--this despite a disappointing bogey on the final hole of round two.

 

While other players struggled to post half-way respectable scores, McIlroy seemed at ease as he confidently and casually lobbed ball after ball onto green after green. Now comes a chance for redemption or, as his competition hopes, another chance for a collapse. One thing's for certain: if McIlroy is able to continue his dominance, he'll make his claim as the future prominent star of the golf world; while washed-up relics like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson fade into the background.

 

- Ryan Lawrence