Changing of Guard at the Congressional

Rory hits a stiff shot for birdie with inches on the cup on the signature 10th tee at the Final Round of the 2011 US Open. (Photo by Donald Miralle for GolfWorld/Golf Digest)

Well there was no Tiger Woods, but there was some serious domination by another young and talented golfer at the US Open at the Congressional in Bethesda, Maryland. For the second straight year a golfer from Northern Ireland won the hardest test in golf with a record-setting 16-under par, and 22-year old Rory McElroy steamrolled the field with ease and grace that emulated the Tiger of past championships. But the Irish sensation collected his first mug from the US Open 3 years earlier than Tiger, and with the British right around the corner this kid has momentum on his side. It was great to be there for a bit of history, but from the gallery and photographically it was a pretty boring weekend due to the fact that McElroy’s domination of the field took all the steam out of the tournament by the weekend. Everyone was just playing for second place and it was the Rory parade. Still it was great to cover another golf major for GolfWorld/Golf Digest and always good to travel to DC to see friends. Here’s some pics from a long hard week, pick up your copy of  GolfWorld & Golf Digest to see it in print, including the great photos edited by DOP Chirstian Iooss shot by the photo team of Dom Furuore, Steve Szurlej and J.D. Cuban.

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