I for one am a person who hates over reactions in sports before a championship, series, or season is over; however, I can’t ignore Rory McIlroy’s performance over the first two days of the 2011 U.S. Open.  His double bogey on the 36th hole, his first hole over par for the entire weekend, may be an indication of another McIlroy collapse in the same fashion as the 2010 Open Championship and this year’s Masters, but I can’t help but see some parallels of his performance this weekend with Tiger’s 2000 U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach where he clobbered the field by 15 strokes.

Through two rounds, McIlroy holds an eight stroke lead, at -11 (131), the lowest 36 hole score of any U.S. Open ever.  McIlroy has an unbelievable amount of experience with major championship leads despite being only 22 years old, and his experience might be the catalyst that allows him to hold onto the lead in this major.

McIlroy’s apparent ability to go low in major championships and give himself a chance to win has to make you wonder if Tiger’s recent struggles and McIlroy’s recent success are both indicative of a new era beginning in golf.  I will not dub this McIlroy’s era just yet because he still has not won any majors and proven his ability to close when the pressure is at its highest, but if he continues to shoot these ridiculously low rounds in major championships, he may end up winning a lot of them throughout his career.

I can’t wait for Tiger to come back and assert his dominance over the rest of the field and go on another 3 year win streak like 2000-2002 and 2006-2008…