McIlroy wins U.S. Open

UPDATE:

Rory McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club with 2-under 69 final round to finish at 16-under par for the tournament. McIlroy finished eight strokes ahead of Jason Day, who finished the tournament at 8-under.

EARLIER:

BETHESDA, Md. – Rory McIlroy showed no signs Sunday of cracking under the pressure of the final round of the U.S. Open as he did at the Masters two months ago.

With nine holes to play at Congressional Country Club, McIlroy maintained an 8-stroke lead over Y.E. Yang, the same margin he held on the first tee.

McIlroy had two birdies on the front nine – a 12-footer on the first hole and a 3-footer on the fourth – to get to 16-under, adding to his record for most strokes under par at an Open.

McIlroy's birdie at No. 4 extended his lead to 10 strokes, but Yang picked up birdies on the front nine's two par fives, the sixth and the ninth, to close to within eight once again, and get to 8-under par.

Lee Westwood birdied the first hole but couldn't close much ground, and stood in a three-way tie at 6-under with Fredrik Jacobsen and Jason Day.

It was a totally different McIlroy that what was seen at the Masters. There, he held a 4-shot lead entering the final round, and led by one entering the back nine before an epic collapse. He showed no signs of making a repeat performance Sunday.

McIlroy would be a sure bet to break the U.S. Open record for the lowest 72-hole score. The current record is 272, held by Jack Nicklaus, Lee Janzen, Jim Furyk and Tiger Woods. Of those four, Woods was the most strokes under par – 12-under in 2000 at Pebble Beach – while the others were 8-under.

McIlroy would have to have a spectacular front nine to break the record for lowest final score in a major, a 265 total by David Toms at the 2001 PGA, and to snap the mark for most shots under par. Tiger Woods was 19-under when he captured the 2000 British Open with a 269 total.

--Joe Juliano