It was just a few months ago when the Rory McIlroy, the golfing superstar from Northern Ireland, had a four-stroke lead lead heading into the final round of the Masters. What happened next was hard to watch as the 22-year old sprayed the ball all over Augusta National Golf Club to shoot 80 and lose a chance to collect his first major title.
Fast forward to Sunday afternoon, after three unbelievable rounds of golf, McIlroy will begin the final round of the 111th US Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, MD. with a 54-hole record score of 14-under par and an eight-shot lead over Korea's Y.E. Yang. Yang sits in second place at 6-under par, while Robert Garrigus (USA), Jason Day (Australia) and Lee Westwood (England) each are a total of 5-under par, nine shots off the lead.
Needless to say, golf fans will either witness the greatest collapse in golf history Sunday or something nobody, not even Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus, has accomplished.
I can't wait to watch the latter.
"From the experience that I had at Augusta I know I know how to approach tomorrow, and I think that's the most important thing." McIlroy said to the media after Saturday's third round.
Entering the final round, McIlroy leads the field in birdies made (15), greens in regulation (85.19 percent) and head-shaking moments (roughly a dozen or more). It's going to take a miracle round from one of his competitors to even make him think about the leaderboard.So, the question everyone will be asking during the final round is: Does McIlroy keep his foot on the gas to destroy the record books or does he back off a bit and play for just the victory?
The journey to the answer begins at 1:30 p.m. when NBC begins its television coverage. Sunday's play begins at 9:30 a.m. when Brad Benjamin and Wes Heffernan tee off, while McIlroy and Yang start at 3:20 p.m.
(For complete U.S. Open TV schedule and tee times click here.)
For more information on the US Open check out SB Nation's golf blog Waggle Room,SB Nation DC's US Open storystream and SB Nation's pro golf hub.