For golfing fans wanting to see if history is either made or repeating itself on Sunday, the time to tune in is 3:20pm Eastern Time. That's when 22-year-old Irishman Rory McIlroy will tee off to cap his historic run at the 2011 U.S. Open at Bethesda's Congressional Country Club. Thus far, McIlroy has set records for lowest score after the second and third round and several are making comparisons of dominance to Tiger Woods. Yet the memory of McIlroy's meltdown at the Masters quickly comes into view as well, bringing even more drama to a fourth round that shouldn't really have any at this point.
If any other player were in the lead at this point with an eight-stroke lead, people would be tuning out already. Yet McIlroy not only has the naysayers wondering if he will once again crumble in the final round, but he also has a young mystique for a sport searching for a new figure. He's young and dominant and that's exactly what the PGA is looking for in the wake of Tiger's legal woes and inability to rise to his former glory. While tennis has its Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, golf is left with several seasoned pros and strong contenders, but no one with the dominant streak that everyone can attempt to topple.
So the heat is on for McIlroy and the rest of the pack can only try to play for second place at this point. Then again, Phil Mickelson himself lost seven strokes on the back nine alone today, proving that anyone is still vulnerable even with a seemingly insurmountable lead. The safe bet, however, is that McIlroy makes good this time around and finishes what he started.
Key Tee Times for Fourth Round at U.S. Open (All Times Eastern):
Rory McIlroy - 3:20pm
Y.E. Yang - 3:20pm
Jason Day - 3:10pm
Lee Westwood - 3:10pm
Robert Garrigus - 3:00pm
Fredrik Jacobson - 3:00pm
Sergio Garcia - 2:50pm
Matt Kuchar - 2:50pm
Davis Love III - 2:20pm
Graeme McDowell - 1:40pm
Phil Mickelson - 10:10am
The full scoreboard and list of tee times can be found here.