Rory McIlroy claimed his first Open title at Royal Liverpool but Sunday was far from the expected stroll for the Northern Irishman, Skysports reports.
He started the day with a six-shot lead and that had been whittled down to just two over Sergio Garcia with three holes to play.
But to his credit McIlroy held his nerve admirably, making a two-putt birdie on 16 to stretch his lead to three.
He followed that by getting up and down from 40 yards at 17 for a par, then made par five at 18 for a one-under 71.
McIlroy finished two shots clear of Garcia, who endured yet another near-miss at a major championship despite a closing 66, and American Ricky Fowler.
Fowler birdied three of the last four holes to card a 67 and has now finished fifth, second and second in the year’s majors.
It is the 10th time that Garcia has finished in the top five at a major and he is still to break his duck.
In stark contrast, his third major title means McIlroy will head to Augusta next year bidding to complete a career grand slam at the age of 25.
McIlroy is already the first European player to win three different majors since the Masters was founded in 1934. Even greats such as Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros won just two of the four.
The Northern Irishman becomes just the third man in the modern era after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to win three majors by the age of 25, while the first prize of £975,000 was not the only windfall for the McIlroy family – his father Gerry and three friends each won £50,000 after putting £100 on the 15-year-old at 500-1 a decade ago to lift the Claret Jug before his 26th birthday.
He started the day with a six-shot lead and that had been whittled down to just two over Sergio Garcia with three holes to play.
But to his credit McIlroy held his nerve admirably, making a two-putt birdie on 16 to stretch his lead to three.
He followed that by getting up and down from 40 yards at 17 for a par, then made par five at 18 for a one-under 71.
McIlroy finished two shots clear of Garcia, who endured yet another near-miss at a major championship despite a closing 66, and American Ricky Fowler.
Fowler birdied three of the last four holes to card a 67 and has now finished fifth, second and second in the year’s majors.
It is the 10th time that Garcia has finished in the top five at a major and he is still to break his duck.
In stark contrast, his third major title means McIlroy will head to Augusta next year bidding to complete a career grand slam at the age of 25.
McIlroy is already the first European player to win three different majors since the Masters was founded in 1934. Even greats such as Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros won just two of the four.
The Northern Irishman becomes just the third man in the modern era after Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to win three majors by the age of 25, while the first prize of £975,000 was not the only windfall for the McIlroy family – his father Gerry and three friends each won £50,000 after putting £100 on the 15-year-old at 500-1 a decade ago to lift the Claret Jug before his 26th birthday.
No comments:
Post a Comment