McIlroy leads by eight shots at U.S. Open

BETHESDA, Md. -- Don't let the near-record margin fool you. There still will be drama aplenty in the final round of the U.S. Open Sunday. Even though Rory McIlroy is up by eight shots, he still must prove he can beat the fellow who caused him so much trouble at Augusta.

He has routed the field all week and he has thrashed Congressional Country Club, setting a U.S. Open record for the lowest score after 54 holes (199). Now all he has to do is not let the fellow he sees in the mirror every day defeat him again.

McIlroy likes his chances.

"From the experience I had at Augusta, I know now how to approach tomorrow," he said after shooting 3-under par 68 to finish three rounds at a record 14 under.

"I know what I need to do tomorrow."

"At Augusta, it was all a little bit new to me, going into the final round with the lead," he said, referring to the 80 that dropped him from first to a tie for 15th on the second Sunday in April.

"I didn't know whether to be defensive, aggressive, go for it, not go for it. But now I know what I need to do, which is a great thing to have."

In fact, after he increased his lead over Y.E. Yang by two shots in a businesslike round on a rain softened course, McIlroy was not seen by his competitors as the guy who blew it at the Masters.

He was seen more as the 22-year-old phenom who can do what Tiger Woods did 11 years ago, win the U.S. Open in a blowout. Woods led by 10 strokes after three rounds and won by 15.

"If you're going to talk about someone challenging Jack's record, there's your man," Padraig Harrington said, referring to McIlroy and alluding to Jack Nicklaus' mark of 18 major championships.

That is surely one record that will be safe Sunday. McIlroy is a long, long way from that. But the way he has been breaking all kinds of other standards, it seems that anything is possible.

Congressional has been unthreatening to the entire field, but no one has taken advantage of it the way the young man from Northern Ireland has. Countryman Graeme McDowell said that Phil Mickelson's caddie Bones Mackay told him that McIlroy had played the first two rounds (in Mickelson's group) "like it's the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic . . . He's free swinging it and aiming at every pin like he's supposed to shoot 65."

Yang, having played with McIlroy Saturday (as he will again Sunday), said through an interpreter, "The player with the better shot, the better putt, the better composure is leading right now."

It is up to the rest of the field to not become demoralized. "I can't say that I wanted to play for second place. I always want to try to win," said Jason Day, who shot 65 and is tied for third at 5 under. "Playing for second place, I guess you're playing for first loser."

Day outdid McIlroy by 12 shots on Sunday at Augusta, finishing in a tie for second. That day is bound to be in the minds of all the fellow golfers and all the people watching this afternoon. People will wonder if McIlroy is capable of another meltdown.

"Even though it has been a very, very short career, I've learned a lot from those experiences," McIlroy said. "I feel as if I've had enough experiences leading majors and being up there that the time is right to go ahead and get my first one."

He was proud of escaping tree trouble on the par-4 third and saving par Saturday, then saving par again on No. 4. "A par can mean more than a birdie," he said.

It meant a lot to him to have such support from the crowd. "It's nice when you get nearly a standing ovation on every green you walk up onto," he said.

If things go the way his supporters on tour expect them to, he will have standing ovations on every green for years to come. But what of Harrington putting him in the 18-major class?

"Oh Paddy, Paddy, Paddy," McIlroy said, when he was told of the three-time major champion's comment.

"I'm looking for my first one. That's all I can say. I'm looking for my first one."