Sports

McIlroy keeps redrawing record books, major breakthrough looks like a gimme

BETHESDA, Md. — All that remains now is the coronation.

Rory McIlroy, in an historic, record-setting display of dominance, has eliminated every iota of drama from today’s final round of the 111th U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club.

He has drained every ounce of blood and sucked every molecule of oxygen from his fellow competitors, all of whom are merely playing for position and paychecks today.

The 22-year-old McIlroy, who takes a stunning eight-shot lead into the final round, will stroll around Congressional’s Blue Course for about four hours this afternoon, soak in the adoration from the huge crowds and almost surely will hoist the trophy for the first of what will likely be many major championships in his promising career.

“The way he’s playing out there, it’s almost Tiger-esque,” said Jason Day, who’s nine shots back at 5-under. “The next generation is starting to kick up now, and he’s the guy that’s leading it.”

Sometime before sunset this evening, McIlroy will be handed the trophy his friend, mentor and fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell owned last year as the U.S. Open champion.

“He’s one of the most phenomenal players I’ve ever seen,” McDowell said. “He may be, hands down, the best player I’ve ever seen hit the ball. He’s a phenomenon.”

What makes it all such a sweet story is the way McIlroy, who extended his six-shot lead over second-place Y.E. Yang to eight shots with his 3-under-par 68, has handled himself and rebounded after such a dramatic meltdown at the Masters just two months ago, when he lost a four-shot lead entering the final round by shooting 80.

“It was disappointing what happened to him at Augusta, but what he’s doing this week has been an accident waiting to happen,” McDowell said. “It’s great to see him out there fulfilling his potential.”

Irishman Padraig Harrington yesterday boldly predicted that it would be McIroy, not Tiger Woods, who breaks Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major championship victories.

“I’m still looking for my first one,” McIlroy said. “I’ve put myself in great position to do that. Then we’ll see what happens from there. It would mean a lot [to win].

“Because of the experience I had at Augusta I know how to approach [today],” McIlroy added. “At Augusta it was all a little bit new to me. Now I know what I need to do.”

McIlroy, who set a number of records with his 36-hole performance, continued to break records yesterday.

His 54-hole score of 199 broke Jim Furyk’s record of 200, set in 2003. When he got to 14-under par, where he stands now, he broke his own record for the lowest under par in U.S. Open history.

Remarkably, in 54 holes McIlroy has only one bogey and one double bogey blemishing his scorecards. If — make that when — he wins, McIlroy will be the first wire-to-wire U.S. Open winner since Woods won by 15 shots in 2000 at Pebble Beach.

“There are always records to be broken,” Day said. “He’s just got so much game, it’s unbelievable how much talent he has at 22. He’s very, very mature for his age. He works hard at it. He’s a world player.”

By the time he wins today, McIlroy will be that one bad round at Augusta away from being halfway to a Grand Slam this year.

Great player? Yes.

But there’s more.

“He’s got a bunch of talent, but the good thing about Rory is that he’s a great guy, so he’s a hard guy to hate,” Day said.

Even before yesterday’s third round began, the players who were closest to McIlroy on the leaderboard — players who still had an outside chance of catching him — were outwardly rooting for him to win.

“As a fan of golf I’d love to see him win this week,” Brandt Snedeker said. “Once he matures and is out here awhile in these kinds of situations, he’s only going to get harder to beat.”

Sergio Garcia, who is at 4-under, said, “Even if what happened at Augusta would not have happened, it would be nice for him to win. I think he deserves it, and hopefully he’ll be able to do it.”

He will.

mcannizzaro@nypost.com