Getty Images

Throughout the past five days, a Rory Lovefest has been taking place. The Ulsterman has taken the golf world by storm and held it in a choke hold with comparisons between the 22 year old and greats of the game such as Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

But what about the other guys who played at Congressional last week? No doubt Rory was the story, but there were other guys playing stellar golf that have fallen through the cracks and haven’t gotten the praise they deserve for their efforts at the US Open.

The first player who springs to mind is 23-year-old Australian Jason Day. Day first turned heads in 2011 when he finished runner-up to Charl Schwartzel at the Masters in April.

Although his impressive play allowed him to find a spot on most fans’ radar, it did not come out of no where. Day won the HP Byron Nelson Championship and finished T-10 at the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in 2010.

Entering the US Open this past week, it was only his fourth major championship appearance. After so-so rounds on Thursday and Friday of 71-72, Day made his move on the weekend, although hopes of winning were assuredly slim as a result of McIlroy’s opening rounds of 65-66 put him 12 shots clear of the Aussie.

However, similar to Augusta where Day went on some birdie benders, he stormed up the leaderboard, shooting nine-under-par on the weekend to finish at eight-under for the championship and record his second second-place finish in as many majors this year.

Despite the fact that Day lost by eight strokes, he was in good spirits following his round.

“Obviously it’s my first U.S. Open,” Day said. ” I’m very excited that I finished second. I’m not going to go home and cry because I got whooped. But Rory, you can’t beat a guy that’s gone out and played as well as he has this week.”

With his second runner-up finish, Day has moved up into the top-10 in the world rankings, checking in at No. 9. Day has proven he has the game to contend at the majors, now it’s just a matter of time before he breaks through and wins one.

AP

Another performance that fell through the cracks last week was the resurgence of Sergio Garcia. The 31-year-old Spaniard had to work to even get in the field.

With the threat of missing his first major championship in a decade, Garcia changed his mind and decided if he did not qualify for the US Open by being inside the top 50 in the world, he would go to a sectional qualifier and did just that.

Garcia has shown signs of rebirth this year, leading a few tournaments in the early stages, but inconsistent play on the weekends has seen him fade back into the pack yet to win.

Garcia’s play was fairly consistent throughout the 111th playing of the US Open, shooting rounds of 69-71-69-70, good enough for a T-7 finish at five-under 279.

Before McIlroy sealed the deal on Sunday and started getting compared to Woods and McIlroy, some were comparing him to Garcia, saying that Garcia was Rory McIlroy before Rory McIlroy: a young gun with all the talent in the world, but someone who couldn’t close the deal.

After his well-publicized respite, it appears as if Garcia is rejuvenated and enjoying playing golf again. Still sitting at No. 64 in the world, Garcia is not a perennial favorite for anything, but his history at the British Opens and his good play of late may make him someone you wouldn’t be surprised to be contending at Royal St. Georges in three weeks time and maybe catch a break and win his first major.

“I think maybe I’ll get lucky one day, but I’m just — like I said, I’m just trying to get better,” Garcia said after his final round. “I know at the moment it’s probably tough for me to get one because things are still not right. But it’s getting there, and hopefully it’ll get there soon.”

On the American front, two guys played superbly over the weekend at Congressional and like the two above, their accomplishments have seemingly fallen upon deaf ears. Both Kevin Chappell and Robert Garrigus shared low American honors at their national championship.

For Chappell’s effort, he could have rolled over after a first round of five-over 76, but he didn’t. He even out-played McIlroy in the final three rounds, shooting 11-under to McIlroy’s 10-under.

Chappell has come out of nowhere and he still has a ways to go sitting at 132nd in the world, but if he keeps playing like he did this weekend, we’ll be hearing a lot more from Kevin Chappell.

As for Garrigus, he didn’t have a terrible first round to bounce back from. Like Sergio, he was very consistent throughout using his length when he could and rolling in putts with that mini 28-inch flat stick. And also like Sergio, he did not shoot one round over par en route to an six-under 278.

Garrigus sits at 71st in the world and 39th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Finally, the Humble Prince, Ryo Ishikawa is widely considered one of the best young talents in the world, but he has yet to really kick it in during a major championship. Having won nine times on the Japanese Tour at the age of 19, there is no doubting his talent, but the question becomes when will that undeniable talent translate to contending at a major championship?

Perhaps all he had to see was McIlroy, another young player with tremendous expectations, win to get his competitive juices flowing.

“He’s given me motivation to take back to Japan and knuckle down to practice,” Ishikawa said. “When I was winning as much as I was in 2009 and then suddenly not winning so much I guess subconsciously I’ve been pushing too much, getting anxious.”

Just outside the top 50 in the world, ranked No. 53 before he has turned 20 years old, there is no doubt Ishikawa will live up to some of the potential so many believe he has.