Rory McIlroy won his third major championship at the 143rd British Open Sunday, holding off Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler.
McIlroy entered the day with a six-stroke lead, but saw it quickly shrink to three after bogeying No. 5 and 6, his first time bogeying two holes in a row all week according to ABCnews.com.
Garcia was unable to capitalize on McIlroy’s early struggles after taking two strokes to get out of a bunker on the par 3 15th. Garcia has been a runner up three times in major championships, and still seeks his first major championship. Despite being unable to catch up with McIlroy, Garcia enjoys a share of second place with Fowler.
Fowler had his third top five finishes this season and his third consecutive top 10 in a major. The young golfer has been trending upward and will be on everyone’s radar come the next major.
After a promising 69 in his first round, Tiger Woods closed the tournament with a 75, finishing at 6-over par and tied for his highest score in an Open according to USAtoday.com. Woods is clearly still struggling to return to his former royalty after his March 31 back surgery. The former number one golfer in the world showed glimpses on Thursday, but still has a long way to go before catching up to the Golden Bear.
Woods has played in 19 majors since his last major title in 2008. He remains four majors behind the record holder Jack Nicklaus.
Next April at the Masters, McIlroy will look to join a short list of players to complete the modern era career grand slam that includes Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen.