BETHESDA, Md. — The coronation officially began at the par-3 10th hole at Congressional Country Club when Rory McIlroy’s ball, launched off the face of a 6-iron, easily cleared the water that had haunted so many others and stopped rolling about 6 inches from the hole.
The tap-in birdie gave him a 10-stroke lead at 17-under par, ensuring there would be no back nine meltdown like he experienced at the Masters.
From there, it was only a formality the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland would become the second-youngest player ever to win a major championship. He finished with a dominating eight-shot victory that shredded the U.S. Open record books and makes him an instant superstar.
His life changes now, and how he handles all that comes with winning the 111th U.S. Open at an incomparable 16-under-par will determine whether he’s as special as he seems to be or just another player who had a great weekend.
Certainly, everything points to the former. But while some might cast him as the second coming of Tiger Woods, McIlroy still has plenty to prove before he can truly separate himself and carve out a legacy that establishes him as one of the best to play in this era.
The attention, the endorsements, the adulation, the heightened expectations and constant critiquing of his demeanor and attitude will be more difficult to deal with than a tamed Congressional proved to be.
He’ll now live in the kind of fishbowl Woods has lived in since winning the Masters in 1997, a fishbowl Ireland’s Padraig Harrington thinks McIlroy is mature enough to handle.
“I think he has got a very good balance in his life,” said Harrington, a three-time major winner.
Harrington said on Saturday that McIlroy has the potential to break Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championships. Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland and last year’s U.S. Open winner called McIlroy, “the best player I have ever seen.” Johnny Miller yesterday said McIlroy’s golf swing “is about as good a swing as we’ve seen in many years.”
Nicklaus, interviewed by NBC, said, “I think this kid’s going to have a great career. I don’t think there’s going to be any questions about it. He’s got all the components.”
And so it begins.
The last 11 majors have been won by different players, but now comes the question of when will McIlroy validate this major by winning another. It took Woods two years after winning his first Masters to capture his second major, at the 1999 PGA Championship.
That was before Twitter, Facebook and the endless sports-talk shows that put added pressure on athletes. If McIlroy hasn’t won another major within two years, someone will be calling him a bust by then.
Right now, McIlroy looks poised for greatness. If not for his horrid back nine at Augusta, where he blew the last of his four-shot lead on Sunday, McIlroy might have won the last two majors. As it is, he has held or shared the lead after seven of the eight rounds played at majors this year.
He brings a freshness golf needs now that Woods has been scarred by scandal and sidelined with injuries. Where Woods was often stoic, guarded and almost programmed in his answers, McIlroy is expansive and accommodating.
“He’s got a great manner about him,” Harrington said. “He’s a confident person, but he’s in no way cocky. He’s certainly struck a nice balance.”
Now he must prove he can stay that way.
george.willis@nypost.com
