New star McIlroy shines at U.S. Open

Starting the back nine on the final day of the U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy watched as his playing partner, Y.E. Yang, stuck his tee shot within five feet from the cup on the par-3 10th hole.

Perhaps this was finally the moment when McIlroy would begin to doubt himself, much as he did at the Masters where he shot an 80 in the final round to blow a four-shot lead; where McIlroy would play back to the field and give the event some long-awaited drama.

Or not.

McIlroy stepped in and hit the shot of his life: over a massive water hazard and onto the ridge in the middle of the green. The ball trickled back to within two feet of the hole.

He could have walked the length of the entire hole and not been able to place the ball in a better spot.

The tournament was over, right then and there.

With arguably the most dominant performance in the 111-year history of the Open, McIlroy emphatically answered the question posed by casual golf fans and analysts alike: What would golf do without Tiger Woods?

In many ways, McIlroy's performance emulated Woods' dominance of the 2000 U.S. Open, where Woods won by a margin of 15 strokes.

If you don't believe McIlroy's performance at Congressional Country Club this past weekend was among the greatest in golf history, consider the following:

McIlroy never trailed at any point of the Open and, aside from the Masters disaster, has now finished with the lead after seven of the eight rounds of major championship golf this year.

He shattered the old scoring record to pieces, shooting a combined score of 268; that's 16-under par in golf terms. He became only the third player in tournament history to fire four sub-70 rounds.

His nearest competitor, Australian-born Jason Day, finished eight shots back.

Sunday appeared to be a coronation of sorts for McIlroy. There's never been a doubt to the 22-year-old's talent; it was just a question of his ability to finish.

CBS Sports and Golf Channel analyst David Feherty admired the beauty of McIlroy's golf swing, comparing it to "snow falling off a branch."

His swing right now is better than Woods' on his best day, which should always give McIlroy a chance to contend.

I'm not saying that McIlroy has replaced Woods or is a better golfer than Woods; I'm saying he's what golf needs right now.

Golf needs a single, great player to market its brand on right now, in place of Woods battling injury, age, divorce court and sex addiction.

While U.S. Open final round television ratings saw a decline this year, most likely due to the certainty of McIlroy's victory, the chants of "Rory! Rory! Rory!" echoed across the golf course.

The patrons at Congressional cheered McIlroy on and witnessed greatness this weekend. It won't take long for the rest of the nation to take notice.