McIlroy wins The Open
Rory McIlroy won his third Major at The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool on Sunday.
A final round of 71 was enough for the Northern Irishman to claim an impressive wire-to-wire win at Hoylake.
After a pair of 66’s and 68, McIlroy’s final round of one under par would take him to 17 under for the championship, two strokes ahead of Spaniard Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler.
While he started the day with a six stroke lead over Fowler, as events unfolded it become clear that holding on for the Claret Jug was not going to be easy.
McIlroy started with a birdie, but slumped on the fifth and sixth holes to card bogeys. Meanwhile, Garcia had sank three birdies after five holes, which saw McIlroy’s big lead reduced to just three shots.
But the two-time Major winner steady the ship after a superb iron off the ninth tee box setup a birdie opportunity, which he converted. The par five tenth would see him hole another birdie and the lead was looking solid again.
The pressure was being felt by Garcia too, as he pushed his approach shot on the 12th into the grandstand. Luckily for the Spaniard, it bounced back and rested nicely on the edge of the green.
An errand tee shot on the par three 13th found the shin high grass, but McIlroy had a fortunate lie and was able find the green and two-putt for his last bogey of the championship.
McIlroy would then offer the chasing duo another glimmer of hope when his approach shot found the rough in the 17th. But he played a crafty chip that got close enough to the pin for a tap in par.
Despite Fowler playing the back nine in four under and Garcia just snapping at his heels, McIlroy’s lead was never less than two shots and that cushion, along with some steely nerves, was the right combination to see the 25-year-old win his third Major championship.
The win also sees Rory’s father, Gerry, win £50 000 after he put down £100 on the then 15-year-old Rory to win The Open before his 26th birthday. Even with odds of 500-1, Gerry still backed his young son.
McIlroy is now in esteemed company, as only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus have won three Majors by the age of 25.
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