Tiger Woods' US Open win in 2000 may never be equalled, says Rory McIlroy
Wednesday 5 June 2019 17:51, UK
Rory McIlroy believes Tiger Woods' record-breaking win at the US Open in 2000 may never be emulated, as he looks to travel to Pebble Beach next week on the back of a strong performance in Canada.
McIlroy's impressive run of form this year, including a win at The Players Championship in March, came to an abrupt halt at The Memorial last week when he missed the cut by a shot after rounds of 74 and 71, and he has been working on his driving accuracy ahead of his debut in the RBC Canadian Open.
The 30-year-old believes playing in Hamilton will be useful preparation for the third major of the year next week at the iconic California venue, where Woods was in a class of his own 19 years ago as he stormed to a remarkable 15-shot victory which was the first leg of his famous 'Tiger Slam'.
"It was just so dominant," said McIlroy, who also broke multiple US Open records in his eight-stroke triumph at Congressional in 2011. "Tiger probably led the field in every single statistical category. I'm sure he was up there in distance and driving accuracy.
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"I think he never drove the ball better than he did that year, long and straight. He had unbelievable distance control with his irons and he was holing putts. He did everything he needed to do. Golf can feel pretty easy when it's like that.
"I've played tournaments and played well where the back nine has been comfortable and you've been able to sort of let it sink in. But to win by 15, it's remarkable. I don't know if we'll ever see a performance as dominant as that again.
"The fields are so deep nowadays that even your really good golf is very hard. That's why Tiger winning by 15 might be something we only ever see once in our lifetime."
McIlroy has missed the cut in the US Open in each of the last three years, but he is confident the various tests presented by the Hamilton course will serve him well for Pebble Beach.
"It's a very strategic golf course," he added. "You've got to put it in play off the tee, and I'm definitely going to have to drive it better this week than I did last week. There's a variety of different tee shots that you need to hit, with different clubs, and the greens are going to be a very similar type of grass.
"The rough is pretty thick as well, so if you miss it in the rough you're doing well to get it up by the green. And then, if you do miss greens, it's going to be pretty similar in terms of the lies that you get.
"But obviously this isn't just a preparation week. This is a very prestigious tournament, one of the oldest tournaments in the world that I would dearly love to be able to add my name to.
"I'm fully focused on this week, but knowing that if I play well here this week, and have good control of my ball and my distance control, that that will serve me well going into next week."
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