? McIlroy holds eight-shot advantage after three rounds
? 'I played really solid golf, especially on the back nine'
Destiny calls once again for Rory McIlroy, who for second time in two months will on Sunday start the final round of a major championship with the best golfers in the world trailing in his wake.
In April the Masters was within his grasp. On Sunday it is the US Open at Congressional Country Club. Then, his lead heading into the final round was four shots. On Sunday, his advantage is double that.
Nothing is certain in the crazy world of professional golf but, equally, nothing will be more daunting for the Northern Irishman's closest challenger, YE Yang, than looking up at the leaderboard to find himself eight shots behind.
McIlroy began Saturday's third round with a six-shot advantage, determined to forge ahead rather than sit back and defend. Easier said than done, of course, but he succeeded, albeit with a little less panache than he had shown in his opening rounds of 65 and 66.
He started with four straight pars and a couple of nervous shots but by the turn he had settled down. Two birdies, at the 5th and 9th holes, extended his lead to nine shots. At that stage Tiger Woods's Pebble Beach masterpiece looked under threat but a bogey on the long par-three 10th temporarily stalled the 22-year-old's momentum before normal service was resumed.
One more birdie completed a three-under-par round of 68, for a 54-hole score of 199 ? the lowest at this stage of any major championship in history.
"I played really solid golf today, especially on the back nine," McIlroy said. "I am very happy with the way it all went. The support I got out there was fantastic. It is nice to get a standing ovation on every green. I hope I can give them more to cheer about tomorrow."
It was a wonderful effort from the Northern Irishman. Yang deserves credit too for fighting back after a faltering start with a pair of bogeys to shoot a one-under-par 70. A good effort, but probably not good enough.
And if the Korean's hopes look forlorn, then what can said for the prospects of the young Australian Jason Day and England's Lee Westwood, who will begin today's final round nine shots behind the leader?
Plenty, according to Westwood. "You don't know how Rory is going to do. You don't know how he's going to deal with the big lead. He had a big lead in a major and didn't deal with it well before. There's pressure on him with regards to that. So we'll see," he said.
Not since Woods ripped up the record books at 2000 US Open at Pebble Beach, taking a 10-shot lead in the final day and ultimately winning by 15 shots, has any player been so dominant in a major championship setting.
Barring calamity, or something extra-terrestrial from another player, McIlroy performance this week is destined to stand comparison with that of Woods 11 years ago.
It is a tantalising prospect, not least for the sport of golf, which is yearning for a successor to the seemingly declining American.
But the Northern Irishman was cautious as he looked forward to the challenge he will face today. "I have won nothing yet,'' he said.
Yet.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jun/19/us-open-rory-mcilroy
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