Ranking the best of each major championship in the 2010s

Best of the U.S. Open: Rory McIlroy cruises at Congressional in 2011

We all know that the U.S. Open is supposed to be the “toughest test in golf”. We also know, today, that all too often the USGA has made the concept of “tough” far more important than “fair”, all in the name of this nebulous idea that par is a sacred barrier, not to be broken by even the best in the world without making them pull their hair out.

Well, Rory McIlroy made a mockery of that entire line of thought eight and a half years ago. Sure, players had finished under par before, but in four of the six years before McIlroy’s victory, the winning mark was par or higher. In the 110 previous U.S. Opens, only Tiger Woods had finished better than 10-under. By the way, he finished at -15 and won by 12, so you know, the “rest of the best” still had their problems. Prime Tiger was just that far out of this world.

What was truly great about this tournament, is that it was really McIlroy’s “I’m taking over golf” moment. The Ulsterman’s first major championship came at the age of 22, and two months after what is still the worst collapse of his entire career. McIlroy, of course, had blown a four-shot lead heading into the final round of the 2011 Masters, firing a Sunday 80 to finish T-15.

A lot of seasoned pros, let alone a 22-year-old who was already hailed as the man who would one day supplant Tiger, would let that meltdown ruin them for months. Not Rory, however. If anything, he made it a point to crush every challenger who would stand in his way at Congressional.

Now 30, and with three more majors and a couple dozen more victories worldwide, McIlroy isn’t slowing down. If anything, the best may still be yet to come in his career, and that’s an amazing statement in itself.

Honorable Mentions

For all the flak the U.S. Open gets, it rarely is a complete letdown in terms of entertainment value. Two other years came close to Rory’s romp, in my book, but they just weren’t quite on the same level.

Much like the Masters, what Jordan Spieth did in 2015 at Chambers Bay was simply outstanding. Not only did he win the second leg of the Grand Slam for the year (and come close in the Open and the PGA), but the back-and-forth action between Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Louis Oosthuizen and Branden Grace was riveting until the final putt dropped. That’s high praise, considering the fact that the course setup throughout the week was so widely criticized.

And while I still think 2011 was the defining U.S. Open of the decade, I simply can’t mention this tournament and not give a nod to what Brooks Koepka accomplished in 2018. He went from shooting 16-under to win by four at Erin Hills the year before, to finishing at 1-over at Shinnecock (still a solid score considering the course) and becoming the first player in 30 years to win two in a row. Had he made it a three-peat at Pebble, it would have been my runaway pick.