Rory McIlroy’s Dad Can Make Over $300,000 if Rory Wins British Open by 2014

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Rory McIlroy gave his father, Gerry McIlroy, possibly the best Father’s Day gift: his first major win on Sunday. Now he has the chance to give his father possibly an even better present. Gerry McIlroy stands to pocket 200,000 pounds if Rory wins the British Open by 2014. Follow me on the this one.

When Rory was 15 years old, his father combined with three friends to bet 400 pounds (100 each) that Rory would win the Claret Jug by the age of 25. They received 500:1 odds, so the payoff is 200,000 pounds.

McIlroy is 22 years old and coming off a record-setting performance at the U.S. Open. Before that, he led the Master’s by four strokes entering the final round of play until he blew the tournament. He also was the leader after the first round of the British last year. McIlroy is proving he’s the top golfer in the world, so you have to like their chances of cashing.

We’ve seen someone hit on an even more improbable bet, but this would have to be infinitely more satisfying if it does come true. If you think about it, what’s 100 pounds when your son is that good? Cashing that ticket will be sweet.

Glory, Glory Hallelujah its Rory Mcilroy

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BETHESDA, Md. -- Rory McIlroy's life changed Sunday in ways that even he can't comprehend yet. And it's not just because he won the U.S. Open by what amounted to a mercy rule, or that the Congressional Country Club course's deflector shields were useless against him.

His life changed because with the first majors victory of his career, McIlroy officially became The Next Tiger Woods. And he did it while The Present Tiger Woods still might have a few fist pumps left in him.

"I was trying to go out there and emulate him in some way," said McIlroy, who grew up in the Woods era.

He did. His 16-under-par total (he doubled up second-place finisher Jason Day at 8-under) was Tiger-esque, circa 2000 at Pebble Beach. McIlroy could have contracted the measles on the back nine and still won with ease.

So now come the comparisons to Woods. Unless, of course, you want to compare McIlroy to his new BFF, Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 career majors victories remain the Maybach of all golf records.

Woods has been stuck on 14 majors wins since 2008. He has a bum knee, a bad Achilles and he's trying to find a happy place in his personal life. He's also 35, which isn't ancient, but it isn't exactly the go-zone of his golf career.

When McIlroy smooched the U.S. Open trophy Sunday evening, he was exactly 22 years, 46 days old. That's about 10 ½ months older than Woods was when he won his first major in 1997, but about 3 ½ months younger than Nicklaus when he won his first in 1962.

Andrew Redington/Getty ImagesRory McIlroy set several U.S. Open records with his performance at Congressional, including the lowest 72-hole score in the tournament's 111-year history.

This matters because the majors clock is now ticking on McIlroy. Like it or not, you can argue that McIlroy might have a better chance of tying or surpassing Nicklaus' record than Woods does. Woods has a 13-majors lead on the Northern Irishman, but McIlroy leads Tiger in the health category -- no surgical scars on his knees, no emotional scars on his personal life. He also has at least, what, 20 more good years and 80 more majors left in his career?

"There's a long way to go, isn't there?" said McIlroy's agent, Chubby Chandler, who hinted that Rory might increase his U.S. playing presence. "Certainly he has the talent."

In that, there can be no argument. Like Woods, he was a child golf prodigy. Like Woods, he's off to an early majors start.

But Woods keeps the media at a distance. He talks, but he rarely reveals. McIlroy has been taught by his agent and by his fellow European Tour buddies, such as Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell, to treat the media not as adversaries, but as partners of sorts.

And then there is McIlroy's game itself. If his swing were any sweeter, you'd get tooth decay. It is built for decades of use. McIlroy hits it farther than some shuttle flights, he has a short game to die for and he has the right disposition.

"He's the best player I've ever seen," said McDowell, who won the 2010 U.S. Open, giving Northern Ireland the stateside back-to-back. "I didn't have a chance to play with Tiger when he was in his real [prime], and this guy is the best I've ever seen, simple as that. He's great for golf. He's a breath of fresh air for the game and perhaps we're ready for golf's next superstar and maybe Rory is it."

Hear that, Tiger?

McIlroy's career has been a series of lessons learned. He learned from shooting a crash-and-burn 80 the day after posting an opening-round 63 at St. Andrews a year ago. He learned from missing out on a playoff at the 2010 PGA Championship. He learned from the final-round meltdown 80 at Augusta National in April.

"Augusta was a very valuable experience for me," McIlroy said. "I knew what I needed to do today to win."

Dave Stockton Sr., the putting guru and two-time majors winner, has been working with McIlroy since after the Masters collapse. The advice he gives is simple: sloooow down ... enjoy the moment ... maybe even high-five a fan to break the tension.

What happens? During Saturday's round, when the birdies and fairways hit weren't coming as easily for McIlroy, he dialed back the anxiety. The proof was apparent on Page 6 of Sunday's Washington Post sports section.

The photo caption: U.S. Open leader Rory McIlroy slaps hands with 2-year-old spectator Alexander Nalda.

None of this means McIlroy is going to surpass Nicklaus. Or Tiger. He first needs to reach Greg Norman's two majors. Harrington's three. Phil Mickelson's four. Seve Ballesteros' five. Nick Faldo's six. Arnold Palmer's seven. Tom Watson's eight. Ben Hogan's nine. Walter Hagen's 11. Then it gets serious.

Right now, McIlroy has the one victory. But he conceivably could have had three by now. Maybe that's why Harrington, who has done the math and has observed McIlroy's early career arc, told reporters, "If you are going to talk about someone challenging Jack's record, there's your man."

And this from the No. 1-ranked Luke Donald: "I think he has probably the most talent I've ever seen from a golfer."

That's a lot of golf weight to put on the shoulders of the 5-foot-9, 160-pound McIlroy (10 pounds of it is curly hair). But McIlroy handled the train wreck at the Masters with dignity and grace, standing in the Augusta National locker room until we ran out of questions to answer. If he can deal with defeat, he can deal with success, right?

If anything, I think McIlroy's emergence will help energize Woods. I'm not ready to short Woods' tournament stock anytime soon. He found a way to win a U.S. Open on one leg. He'll figure out a way to win again on one that is surgically repaired.

First, though, he needs to fix his knee and Achilles with rest and rehab. He needs to fix his swing. He needs to find that happy place. When he does, the car chase of Nicklaus' record will begin again.

McIlroy started his own chase Sunday. He did what Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald haven't done -- win major No. 1. That's always the hardest part. Woods would say the same thing.

"Maybe," Chandler said, "it's the start of the Rory McIlroy era."

Not maybe. Definitely.

Rory McIlroy builds lead to 8 strokes

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BETHESDA, Md. -- With each remarkable round, with each record-setting performance, Rory McIlroy is making that Masters debacle seem like a distant memory.

A U.S. Open title could erase it altogether.

U.S. Open Leaderboard

1. McIlroy (-14)
2. Yang (-6)
T-3. Westwood (-5)
T-3. Day (-5)
T-3. Garrigus (-5)
T-6. Garcia (-4)
T-6. Kuchar (-4)
T-6. Jacobson (-4)

McIlroy moved closer to his first major Saturday at Congressional by stretching his lead for the third straight day with a 3-under 68 to set the 54-hole record at the U.S. Open -- a mind-boggling 14-under 199 -- and build an eight-shot lead going into the final round.

Rory McIlroy's competitors heaped praise on him heading into the final round of the U.S. Open, which speaks volumes about the Northern Irishman, writes Bob Harig. Column

That's twice the size of his lead going into the last day at Augusta National.

And this time, the 22-year-old Northern Irishman says he has learned from his mistakes.

"At Augusta, it was all a little bit new to me, going into the final round with the lead," he said. "I didn't know whether to be defensive, aggressive, go for it, not go for it. But now, I know what I need to do, which is a great thing to have. I have a clear mind going out there tomorrow, and I just need to stick to my game plan."

This time, history is on his side.

No one has ever blown more than a five-shot lead at the U.S. Open. No has ever lost any major when leading by more than six shots going into the final round. And over three days on a rain-softened course, no one looks to be close to McIlroy.

"It's just phenomenal," defending champion Graeme McDowell said. "You run out of superlatives to describe what he's doing this week. He's decimating a field." For those curious whether he would crumble, as McIlroy did in the final round at the Masters when he lost a four-stroke lead and shot 80, he answered with a combination of smart play early and aggressive shots when he found his rhythm.


If Rory McIlroy -- 22 years, 46 days old on Sunday -- holds on to win the U.S. Open, he'll become the second youngest player to win a major since World War II.

His only bogey came from a shot that was about 5 feet too long and tumbled into a back bunker on the par-3 10th. On the next hole, facing one of the most daunting shots on the course from deep rough, he hit a 7-iron that covered the flag and settled 18 feet away. McIlroy pumped his fist when he made the birdie putt. It was a knockout punch to everyone else.When he walked off the 18th green with a par, he was eight shots clear of Y.E. Yang and one round away from his first major.

"I wanted to catch up a little bit," Yang said. "But at the same time, the player with the better shot, with the better putt, with the better composure is leading right now. So I have no regrets. Right now, the better player is leading.

"I think it's actually a race for second place right now."

His performance has been so inspiring that comparisons to Tiger Woods' record-setting romp at Pebble Beach in 2000 gave way to questions whether McIlroy ultimately would be the one to challenge Jack Nicklaus and his 18 majors.

"What is he, 22 years old? If you are going to talk about someone challenging Jack's record, there's your man," fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington said. "Winning majors at 22 with his talent, he would have 20 more years ... where he could be competitive. It would give him a great chance."

McIlroy, perhaps still wary of what happened at Augusta, is not ready to celebrate.

"Paddy, Paddy, Paddy," he said quietly as he shook his head and smiled. "I'm still looking for my first one. I've put myself in a great position to do that tomorrow, and then we'll see what happens from there. It's nice to have all these complimentary things said about you, but until you actually do these things, they don't mean anything."

With more rain overnight and cloud cover through the third round, scores resembled a regular PGA Tour event instead of a major championship designed to be the toughest exam golf has to offer.

There were 26 rounds under par, the most ever for the third round of a U.S. Open.

Lee Westwood and Jason Day provided the early challenge -- if it could even be called that -- with rounds of 65. Webb Simpson, who narrowly made the cut, was among the first out and shot 66.

"It's not a true U.S. Open test out there, to be honest," McDowell said. "There were some tough pins out there, no doubt. I'd like to see it tougher than it was. That's the weather -- you can't control that. Take nothing away from him. Rory is doing a phenomenal job out there."

Woods was the only player under par when he built his 10-shot lead at Pebble Beach. There were 20 players under par through three rounds at Congressional. But soft conditions tend to make it easier on everyone, and McIlroy has been the best all week in any condition.

The USGA made no apologies for the low scores, attributing that to the weather -- and to McIlroy, the star of this U.S. Open.

"If he wasn't in the field, we'd be talking about a pretty tight U.S. Open," said Jeff Hall, part of the team setting up the golf course. "Rory is just obviously playing at a level that's a bit above everybody else this week. There certainly are a number of birdies being made, but some folks are not finding it quite as easy as others."

About the only drama Saturday, even after McIlroy reached 14-under par, was whether he also would break Woods' record 10-shot lead through 54 holes at a U.S. Open. McIlroy had a nine-shot lead, but failed to birdie the par-5 16th and Yang added two late birdies.

Yang wound up with 70 and will be in the last group with McIlroy again. Westwood, Day and Robert Garrigus (68) were at 5-under 208.

"It definitely wasn't as easy as it was the first couple of days," McIlroy said. "I knew that I was going to feel a little bit of pressure and a little bit of nerves, and it took me a few holes to get into the round."

If there was a turning point, it might have come on the third hole.

McIlroy pushed his tee shot into the rough, and a tree blocked a clear shot at the green. Studying his options with caddie J.P. Fitzgerald, McIlroy pointed to a gap, then backed off and reached for a wedge to pitch back into the fairway. His third shot stopped 3 feet from the cup for a par, and he was on his way.

"That gave me a little bit of momentum," McIlroy said. "I sort of found my rhythm quite quickly after that."

Day played the opening three rounds with McIlroy at the Masters, and knew what he was capable of doing. The Australian still gave it his best shot, shooting a 32 on the tougher back nine, finishing with a rare birdie on the 18th.

All that, and he was still nine shots behind.

"The way he's playing out there, it's almost Tigeresque," Day said. "It's unbelievable how good he's playing. Obviously, to have the lead that he has in the U.S. Open is pretty ridiculous, and at such a young age. The next generation is starting to kick up now, and he's the guy that's leading it."

Westwood, considered the best player without a major, wasn't ready to concede even as McIlroy was passing his first big test.

"He had a big lead in a major and didn't deal with it before," Westwood said. "There's pressure on him with regards to that. So we'll see. All I can do is control my game and try and shoot as low a score as possible for me."