How low can they go? A top-10 list of the most dominant performances in golf’s major championships

Four times a year, golf grabs the spotlight looking for brilliant shots and exciting finishes at its major tournaments.

Yet when Rory McIlroy eliminated any suspense last weekend in the U.S. Open, nobody complained. Instead, his eight-shot embarrassment of the field grabbed the country’s imagination and made a star of the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland.

“Here you have the suggestions of a tremendous front-runner, which is the hardest position to maintain,” said Sidney Matthew, a golf historian from Tallahassee, Fla. “The guy who is one stroke behind has everything to gain, nothing to lose, so there is much less pressure on him than on the guy who has everything to lose and hopefully everything to gain.”

It’s not unusual to see the leader come back to the pack at the end of a tournament, wilting under the pressure of leading. Most of the iconic moments come when a legend sinks an unsinkable putt to win on the last hole.

But every once in a while a performance is so dominating that it can only be compared to the greatest performances in golf history. McIlroy at Congressional Country Club fits that description.

“I think McIlroy has the makings of a notorious front-runner,” Matthew said. “Arnold [Palmer] was a come-from-behind guy, but Jack [Nicklaus] was a famous front-runner, as was Ray Floyd. And [Bobby] Jones was a terrific front-runner.”

McIlroy may become an all-time legend, or perhaps last weekend will end up a simple footnote in his long career. As an admittedly subjective measurement of McIlroy’s performance, we’ve put together this list of the all-time great dominating golf performances.

1. 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach: Tiger Woods

Woods seized the lead with an opening-round 65, six under par. Heading into Sunday’s play, the lead had ballooned to 10 strokes, and Woods was the only player under par.

“Tiger at Pebble Beach just ran away and hid from the field,” said Bill Quirin, golf historian at the Metropolitan Golf Assn. in Elmsford, N.Y. “He won by an even bigger margin.”

By the time it was over, Woods was 12 strokes under par and 15 ahead of his closest pursuer.

2. 1965 Masters: Jack Nicklaus

Nicklaus’ battles with Palmer are the stuff of golf legend, but although Palmer did tie for second at Augusta in 1965, this was anything but a battle. Nicklaus won by nine strokes, finishing 17 under par. Those two figures would stand as Masters records for 32 years.

3. 1929 U.S. Open at Winged Foot: Bobby Jones

This great performance was made possible by a great collapse. Jones held a six-stroke lead over Al Espinosa with six holes left on Sunday. Heading to the 18th green, Jones suddenly needed to drop a 12-foot putt to force a playoff. Once he made the putt, Jones left nothing else in doubt, routing Espinosa the next day by 23 strokes in a 36-hole playoff.

4. 2010 British Open at St. Andrews: Louis Oosthuizen

Oosthuizen’s seven-stroke victory barely captures his dominance; the South African led the last 48 holes of the tournament. He entered the second day two strokes behind the leader, McIlroy, but by the end of that round he was up by five. He never looked back.

5. 1997 Masters: Tiger Woods

This was the weekend when Woods first stepped into the spotlight and commandeered the world stage. Entering the final round with a nine-stroke lead, he kept his foot on the gas and finished 12 strokes ahead of Tom Kite for his first major title. His 18-under total of 270 and 12-stroke victory broke Nicklaus’ records from 1965.

6. 1976 Masters: Raymond Floyd

Floyd tied Nicklaus’ 1965 record of 17 under par and beat runner-up Ben Crenshaw by eight shots. Nicklaus tied Larry Ziegler for third, 11 back.

7. 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club: Rory McIlroy

McIlroy broke Woods’ 11-year-old Open record when he reached 13 under par — during the second round. A double bogey to end that round brought him back to 11 under, good for a six-stroke lead. McIlroy would go as low as 17 under in the final round before ending the anticlimactic weekend at 16 under with an eight-stroke advantage.

8. 2000 British Open at St. Andrews: Tiger Woods

Woods makes his third appearance on this list, and second from 2000, by setting another record for a major. His final score of 19 under par was the lowest ever at one of the four major championships. Woods cruised to victory with a seven-stroke cushion, having entered the final day up by six.

9. 1953 Masters: Ben Hogan

Hogan finished his Augusta weekend 14 under par, essentially ushering in the modern era of golf. His five-stroke win left even him satisfied: “It was the best I ever played for 72 holes.”

10. 1980 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club: Jack Nicklaus

Only one golfer stayed under par at Oak Hill, and he didn’t exactly struggle to do so. Nicklaus finished the tournament six under, while Andy Bean came in second at one over.

douglas.farmer@latimes.com