McIlroy soars to huge lead at US Open

Rory McIlroy eagled the eighth hole with a 113-yard wedge shot, becoming only the fifth man in US Open history to reach 10-under par and seizing a seven-shot lead midway into Friday's second round. Magical McIlroy, seeking his first major title at age 22, also birdied the par-4 fourth and par-5 sixth and made a sand-save par at nine to make the turn at 10-under after a bogey-free morning start at Congressional Country Club. The Ulsterman squandered first-round leads with horror-show rounds of 80 at both last April's Masters and last year's British Open, but the prodigy grabbed a stranglehold on this event with an amazing swing from the eighth fairway. McIlroy launched the ball to the back fringe of the green and from a distance watched as the ball slowly rolled back 25 feet toward the cup, curled its way slightly left and dropped in for an eagle two as the crowd roared. McIlroy lifted his arms into the air, looked skyward and smiled as playing partner Phil Mickelson, a four-time major champion and five-time US Open runner-up, could only applaud in astonishment at the feat he had witnessed. The Northern Ireland star became only the fifth man in US Open history to reach 10-under at any point in any tournament, following Gil Morgan in 1992, Tiger Woods in 2000, Jim Furyk in 2003 and Ricky Barnes in 2009. Should McIlroy maintain his margin at the end of the second round, he will own the largest 36-hole lead in US Open history, bettering the six-under record set by Woods in 2000 at Pebble Beach on his way to a record-smashing 15-stroke rout, the most lopsided triumph in major golf history. American Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, eagled the par-5 sixth and birdied the par-4 eighth to seize second at four-under, trimming McIlroy's margin to six strokes as the Ulsterman began the back nine. No American holds a major title and if none wins this week, it will mark the longest run of majors in the modern era without a US winner. McIlroy birdied the par-4 fourth, coaxed a hefty-breaking short par putt into the cup at five and birdied the par-5 sixth to reach eight-under. McIlroy fired a six-under par 65 on Thursday at Congressional Country Club to grab a three-shot lead over reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel of South Africa and South Korea's Yang Yong-Eun, Asia's first men's major winner. No first-round US Open leader since 1933 had a larger lead than McIlroy, who topped the leaderboard after 18 holes for the third time in four majors as he tries to move beyond past failures and claim his first major at age 22. McIlroy opened with a 65 at the Masters in April, becoming the youngest first-round leader in Augusta National history at age 21 although he shared the spot with Spain's Alvaro Quiros. The Northern Irish prodigy took a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Masters and led by a stroke when he began the back nine but took a triple bogey at the 10th and faded from contention, stumbling in with a last-day 80. McIlroy matched the lowest round in major championship history in his first round at last year's British Open with a 63 at St. Andrews to lead by two shots but battled severe winds in round two and soared to an 80, equalling the worst fall between the first and second rounds in tournament history. The past 10 majors have been won by 10 different players and seven of the past eight majors have been taken by first-time major winners, streaks McIlroy would continue with a breakthrough triumph on Sunday. Few rivals could make great headway against McIlroy in the early going. Schwartzel took bogeys at the fourth and sixth to stumble seven adrift. Sergio Garcia took a roller coaster ride with a bogey at 11, a birdie on the par-3 13th, another bogey at the par-4 15th and another birdie at 16. South Korean Kim Tae-Kyung moved within three strokes by starting with a birdie at the par-3 10th but took a bogey at the 13th before a birdie at the par-5 16th returned him to 3-under with Yang, who had yet to tee off.