Last night I was sitting in my chair watching Northern Ireland golf star Rory McIlroy hit a golf ball as well as I've ever seen one hit. It was the first round of the 2011 US Open and McIlroy was making what is an incredibly difficult test of golf look remarkably easy. It seemed that McIlroy was doing exactly what all the sports psychologists tell you to do, focusing on the target, staying in the moment, not getting ahead of himself and all those cliches that are trotted out. Put simply McIlroy was playing to his game plan exactly as he had devised it and not letting anyone else affect him, but more than that he was playing the game that suits his personality … attacking.

The commentators were commending him on how he had answered his critics and exorcised the demons of his Masters final round where he shot 80 when going into the Sunday with a four shot lead. I'm not so sure that the demons have been exorcised and this was alluded to in Rory's post round press conference when he said he thinks he was too defensive in his final round of the Masters and he needed to learn from that if was to win this tournament. Most people would agree that what he did on Thursday was incredible. To lead three of the last four Majors after the first round is a show of his talent but it's how he reacts on Sunday, if he is leading, that will be the true test to see if he has turned the 'mental corner' and can become a Major winner.

McIlroy could do worse than learning a little from his favorite football team Manchester United. It's a cliche but the old saying 'the best form of defense is to attack' is so well executed by United. They get ahead in a game and they 'put the foot on the throat' of the opposition by continuing to attack and putting even more pressure on their opponent.

So often in sport you see a team or person attacking brilliantly and leading a match when all of a sudden they 'see the finish line' and start getting defensive like Rory did at Augusta National. The opponent senses it and starts to believe they now have a chance and the whole momentum shifts.

Let's hope that if McIlroy does take a lead into the final round of the US Open he realises he's got to that position by playing his own game. If he does that he could do what Tiger has so often done in Major tournaments and 'put his foot on the throat' of his opponents and run away with the tournament. Wouldn't it be great to see McIlroy exorcise the demons of Augusta by not just winning the US Open but winning it in style.