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While most thought Sunday would be a walk in the park for Rory McIlroy, a man leading by six shots with just 18 to play, it was anything but at Royal Liverpool.
McIlroy's birdie on the opening hole extended his lead to seven, but Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia wouldn't let down.
Garcia made three birdies over his first five holes to put some pressure on McIlroy, while Fowler started off slow but fired a back nine 33 to make the conclusion a bit dramatic.
McIlroy made a big par putt on the 17th hole, gave a subtle fist pump as he knew it was all but wrapped up, and two-putted for a safe par on the final hole to win by two shots and claim his third major championship.
With all due respect to Jim Furyk, Marc Leishman and Shane Lowry, who all posted 7-under 65s to jump in the top-10, the round of the day belonged to Sergio Garcia.
Garcia shot a 66 that included a big eagle on the 10th hole, and despite a bad bunker shot on the 15th that killed his momentum, was solid all afternoon as he chased a man that wasn't going to be beat, and despite coming up two short, showed a lot of guts and a top-10 in a major championship that was his first since 2008.
Rory McIlroy joins Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three of the four majors at the age of 25.
McIlroy went for the green on the 18th, and despite a comfortable lead on a par-5, found a pot bunker near the green that could have been disastrous if it went another foot.
Rory hit an incredible bunker shot out of it, landing pin high and rolling just a few feet past, giving him three putts for the tournament and a near hole-out for an eagle and a part of the Open scoring record.
McIlroy's birdie on the opening hole extended his lead to seven, but Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia wouldn't let down.
Garcia made three birdies over his first five holes to put some pressure on McIlroy, while Fowler started off slow but fired a back nine 33 to make the conclusion a bit dramatic.
McIlroy made a big par putt on the 17th hole, gave a subtle fist pump as he knew it was all but wrapped up, and two-putted for a safe par on the final hole to win by two shots and claim his third major championship.
Garcia shot a 66 that included a big eagle on the 10th hole, and despite a bad bunker shot on the 15th that killed his momentum, was solid all afternoon as he chased a man that wasn't going to be beat, and despite coming up two short, showed a lot of guts and a top-10 in a major championship that was his first since 2008.
Rory hit an incredible bunker shot out of it, landing pin high and rolling just a few feet past, giving him three putts for the tournament and a near hole-out for an eagle and a part of the Open scoring record.
Of the 409 players in the three majors this year, Rickie Fowler has been beaten by SIX of them. He's beaten 98.53% of the fields.
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) July 20, 2014
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) July 20, 2014