2011 U.S. Open: Rory McIlroy Sets Another Record, Enters Clubhouse At 14-Under

2011 U.S. Open Leaderboard Results From Day Three: Rory McIlroy Still Dominant

It's Rory McIlroy's world right now and the rest of the 2011 US Open field is just living in it. McIlroy is just 18 holes from capping a dominant week at Congressional Country Club and holds an eight-shot advantage heading into the final round. Along the way, he's recorded the lowest 54-hole score to par in a US Open and needs just a 72 on Sunday to record the lowest 72-hole score.

Saturday was another solid day for McIlroy and his third round in the 60s this week. It wasn't quite as good as his first two, but he walked off the course with a 68 on the card and at 14-under for the tournament, atop the US Open leaderboard by a mile through the third round.

Y.E. Yang spent his day riding shotgun with McIlroy and remains in second place after 54 holes at 6-under for the tournament. The two will be paired together again on Sunday, though Yang has eight strokes to makeup in 18 holes. McIlroy and Yang take the course at 3:20 p.m. EDT in what will either serve as the coronation for the young Irishman or a "here we go again" moment.

Nine strokes back of McIlroy sits a bunched group of competitors: Jason Day, Lee Westwood and Robert Garrigus are all at 5-under for the tournament and in a tie for third place. Sergio Garcia, Matt Kuchar and Frederik Jacobson are at 4-under and tied for sixth-place, a whopping 10 shots off the lead. Kyung-tae Kim is in ninth-place by himself at 3-under for the tournament.

In other notables, Phil Mickelson had his blowup round on Saturday, carding a 77 that a back-nine of 77 and back-to-back double bogeys on No. 16 and 17. Masters winner Charl Schwartzel is tied for 27th at 1-over for the tournament. Only 20 players are under par for the tournament, as well.

The final round gets underway early Saturday morning and the final group tees-off at 3:20 p.m. Coverage begins at 1:30 p.m. EDT on NBC

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Rory McIlroy Aims For 2011 U.S. Open Title, Slew Of Golf's Major Records

Rory McIlroy looks all but unbeatable at the 2011 U.S. Open. And if he keeps on painting his scorecard red at Congressional Golf Club, he might erase a few of golf's time-honored records.

McIlroy is 14-under and at 199 through 54 holes; both that aggregate score and the score in relation to par are U.S. Open records. The 72-hole records for aggregate score and relation to par are 272 and 12-under, respectively; Tiger Woods holds the latter and shares the former with Jack Nicklaus and Lee Janzen.

McIlroy would own both records — claiming a record shared by arguably the two greatest golfers ever — with a 1-over 72 on Sunday. And if McIlroy goes lower still?

The lowest score in relation to par at a major, ever, was Tiger's 19-under bravura performance at the 2000 British Open at St. Andrews. Woods also has three of the four 18-under performances at majors in golf history, and Bob May, who lost to him in a playoff at the 2000 PGA Championship, has the fourth. If McElroy can fire a 5-under 66, he'll tie Woods, while a 6-under 65 would snatch the record for his own.

There are also some non-record distinctions at stake. McIlroy, with a victory, would make it two straight U.S. Open wins for golfers from Northern Ireland, after Graeme McDowell's 2010 U.S. Open title. And a McIlroy win would make it six straight non-American golfers in the ranks of distinct first-time major winners, extending the longest streak of non-American first-time major winners since 1907, when golf was dominated by Scots.

For the latest on Rory McIlroy and the 2011 U.S. Open, stay with this StoryStream throughout the day. For more on golf, head over to SB Nation's Waggle Room.

Rory McIlroy Sets 54-Hole Record At U.S. Open

Rory McIlroy has just tapped into the 18th hole for par, and in doing so, set a U.S. Open record. The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland has shot a total of 199 through the first 54 holes, the best in tournament history.

McIlroy's 3-under on Saturday was more than enough to wrest the record from Jim Furyk, and more importantly, head into the final round of the Open with a 14-under score. He's still playing in the shadow of his disastrous Masters performance in April in which he carried a lead into the final round only to plummet into a tie for 15th.

This time around, however, McIlroy's lead looks nearly unassailable. He merely needs to play competent golf Sunday to chase away any lingering demons from the Masters and win the first major championship of his young career.

You can view the full leaderboard here. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for updates. And for more on the PGA Tour, check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

U.S. Open Leaderboard Update: Jason Day, Lee Westwood Serve As Rory McIlroy's Closest Challenger

Rory McIlroy, to no one's surprise, is still well on his way to winning the 2011 U.S. Open. Though his dominant play has certainly overshadowed everyone else in Bethesda, Jason Day and Lee Westwood played terrific golf Saturday to share a tie for second place.

Both men shot a 65 -- the best scores from anyone in the tournament -- in Round 3. With 18 holes remaining in the tournament, Day and Westwood stand eight strokes behind McIlroy on the leaderboard. The race for second place is a tight one; 11 players are within three strokes.

Indeed, for everyone not named Rory McIlroy, this seems like a race for second place. But both Westwood and Day finished strong Saturday. If they can keep it up, and if McIlroy's play cools, this tournament isn't quite over.

You can view the full leaderboard here. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for updates. And for more on the PGA Tour, check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

2011 U.S. Open Leaderboard Update: Phil Mickelson Finishes Third Round In Disastrous Fashion

With 54 holes in the books, it is clear that Phil Mickelson will not end his U.S. Open struggles at the 2011 U.S. Open.

Mickelson shot a 6-over 77 on Saturday to fall from the ranks of implausible dark horse to the realm of the golfers just playing out the string. And Mickelson, who was at even par for the U.S. Open and 1-under for his third round after playing his front nine at Congressional Golf Club, has only a disastrous back nine to blame.

Mickelson's back nine 42 — 7-over for that stretch — featured three bogeys, two double bogeys, and no red numbers. Mickelson played a three-hole stretch from the 15th to 17th in 5-over, and made two straight double bogeys on those latter two holes.

When leader Rory McIlroy made birdie on the ninth hole to move to 13-under for the U.S. Open, Mickelson, having just made those consecutive double bogeys, trailed the upstart by a whopping 20 strokes. Fortunately, McIlroy's subsequent bogey reduced his advantage on Lefty to 19 strokes.

Don't expect Mickelson to erase all of that on Sunday. And don't expect him to add a sixth second place finish to his resume, either.

For the latest on the 2011 US Open, stay with this StoryStream throughout the day. For more on golf, head over to SB Nation's Waggle Room.

2011 U.S. Open Leaderboard Update: Rory McIlroy's Front Nine Moves Him Back To Record Territory

After his front nine on Saturday at the 2011 U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy is once more in rarefied air that only he has ever reached.

With a birdie on the par-5 ninth hole, McIlroy moved to 13-under for the 2011 U.S. Open, again reaching the lowest score in relation to par in the history of golf's most grueling major. He went out in 2-under 34 on the front nine, scoring birdies on the fifth and ninth holes, to tack two more strokes under par onto his scintillating 11-under start over the first 36 holes.

McIlroy's lead has looked imposing since he became the quickest ever to double-digit red numbers in a U.S. Open after his 26th hole of the tournament on Friday. But McIlroy, who collapsed late at the 2011 Masters, is showing impressive steadiness, and that might just make this lead unassailable; even McIlroy's second over-par score for a hole this week, a bogey 4 on the par-3 10th, merely reduced his advantage on second place (shared by Jason Day and Lee Westwood at 5-under through 54 holes) to a stunning seven strokes.

Should McIlroy keep his barrage of birdies going at Congressional Golf Course, the only competitor he may concerned with on Sunday is history.

You can view the full U.S. Open leaderboard here. Follow along with this StoryStream for U.S. Open updates. And for more on the PGA Tour, check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

2011 U.S. Open Leaderboard Update: Fredrik Jacobson Surging As Rory McIlroy Tees Off

As Rory McIlroy's third round gets underway on Saturday, his competition, however distant, is showing signs of life. Most notably, Fredrik Jacobson is playing masterful golf to jump 23 spots up the U.S. Open leaderboard.

Jacobson began the tournament with a 3-over first round, then rallied with a 2-under on Friday. In Round 3, he's 6-under through 11 holes, and has caught fire by hitting birdies on five of his last six. He now sits in sole possession of second place for the tournament, six strokes behind McIlroy (-11). Jacobson, age 36, has three European Tour wins to his name, but has never won a PGA Tour event.

Elsewhere, amateur Russell Henley shot 4-under through his front nine on Saturday, and now sits in a tie for third. Although a serious challenge of McIlroy's lead is unlikely, the underdog Henley may treat us to a satisfying sideshow.

You can view the full leaderboard here. Follow along with this StoryStream for U.S. Open updates. And for more on the PGA Tour, check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

2011 U.S. Open Leaderboard Update: Webb Simpson Making Early Gains

Just after noon ET Saturday, the players near the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard are hours away from their tee times. No one currently on the course is within 10 strokes of tournament leader Rory McIlroy, but Webb Simpson has put together a terrific front nine to vault into the top 15.

Entering Saturday's play, Simpson wasn't in a terribly impressive position; after a 4-over first round, he shot even in Round 2. Through his first nine holes on Saturday, though, he's 4-under to bring him back to par for the tournament.

Simpson is the only major mover so far. The top contenders don't tee off until 3 p.m., with Rory McIlroy, who holds a massive six-stroke lead, beginning his third round at 3:50 p.m.

You can view the full leaderboard here. Stay tuned to this StoryStream for updates. And for more on the PGA Tour, check out SB Nation's golf blog, Waggle Room.

2011 U.S. Open Third Round Tee Times, Pairings Released

After yesterday's weather delay, the tee times and pairings for Saturday's third round of the 2011 U.S. Open have been released, and the initial pairings will be teeing off shortly, at 10:00 am ET. Leaders Y.E. Yang and Rory McIlroy will be teeing off at 3:50 pm ET. Here's the entire list of tee times and pairings from the USGA.

Stick around to find leaderboard and news updates in this StoryStream throughout the day, as well. For more on golf, head over to SB Nation's Waggle Room.    

2011 U.S. Open: Third Round Delayed, Tee Times Pairings Coming Saturday Morning

The US Open will get started a few minutes late on Saturday as the final groups left-over from Friday finish their second rounds. A weather delay forced groups from the course on Friday and play was suspended for darkness with just a few groups still on the course. Before the third round begins, and before the tee-times are set, play from the second round must conclude.

But we do know Rory McIlroy and Y.E. Yang will be in the final group as the last golfers on the course. McIlroy is at 11-under for the tournament, six shots clear of the field. Yang is in second all by his lonesome at 5-under for the tournament. The gap between Yang and the group in third is three shots -- five players are at 2-under for the tournament.

With just six groups on the course -- all of which are through 15 or more holes -- the third round should begin relatively soon on Saturday morning. Typically, the first groups of the day have been teeing-off at 7 a.m., so we can reasonably expect the third round to begin sometime around 8 a.m., or perhaps shortly thereafter.

This StoryStream will be updated with tee times as soon as they become available. Stick around to find leaderboard and news updates in this StoryStream throughout the day, as well. For more on golf, head over to SB Nation's Waggle Room.