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Fowler Upbeat despite Open Near Miss
Worst Result for Woods at Open
Strong Finish from Thongchai at Open
Open Glory for Mighty McIlroy
HOYLAKE, July 20, 2014 (AFP) - At 25, McIlroy joined legends Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players to have achieved that feat by the time they were 25 and he is the first European to have won three majors.
He also becomes the second most successful British golfer of the modern era behind the six major titles won by Nick Faldo.
The Irishman closed with a 71 for a 17-under par total of 271, two strokes clear of Garcia who closed with a 66 and Fowler with a 67.
A further two strokes back came American Jim Furyk with a final round of 65. Australians Adam Scott (66) and Marc Leishman (65) were on 12 under.
"It feels incredible. Today wasn't easy, a few guys were making runs at me, I needed to stay focused and concentrate," McIlroy said.
"To win three legs of the four majors at 25 is a pretty good achievement, it is not going to sink in for a while.
"The lead never got less than two, I always felt I had that little cushion. Coming into the back nine I know I had holes where I could make birdie. Sixteen was the hole that settled the championship I think."
It was a magnificent wire-to-wire win from McIlroy, who is just the seventh player in Open history to to so, but the day was not without its share of drama.
Starting with a whopping six-stroke lead, McIlroy confidently birdied the first, but back-to-back bogeys at five and six saw his lead halved as Garcia emerged from the chasing pack.
But he birdied the 10th to keep his challengers at arm's length and then stood firm down the back nine against Garcia and a late push by Fowler.
His third major title follows eight stroke triumphs in the 2011 US Open and the 2012 US PGA Championship.
Such was the majesty of McIlroy's three first rounds of 66, 66 and 68 at Royal Liverpool that few believed he was in any danger of repeating his collapse at the 2011 Masters when he led by four strokes going into the final round only to shoot 80.
And despite some early movement from such as Robert Karlsson, Marc Leishman and Victor Dubuisson, the rest of the field were too far behind to be able to apply any real pressure on the leader.
But suddenly it changed after McIlroy's back-to-back bogeys, followed shortly after by an eagle from Garcia at the 10th.
The lead was back down to two and the Spaniard had a sniff of possibly finally winning a major title at the age of 34 after a long run of near misses.
But he narrowly missed a birdie at the 11th and playing behind him, McIlroy grabbed another birdie at 10 to ease back to three ahead.
Garcia saw his chances all but vanish when he took two shots to get out of a greenside pot bunker at the par-three 15th and a superb chip by McIlroy to set up par at the 17th sealed the deal.
The man from Holywood outside Belfast had a three-stroke lead with a hole to play and he was able to enjoy a victory walk down the last
For Garcia, it meant the Spaniard remains ranked second in most major starts without a victory with 62, trailing only Lee Westwood who has two more.
"It was close. At least I'm proud of the way I played. I wanted to at least make him feel a little bit and see how he would respond," he said.
"And he obviously responded well. Because I got within two, but every time I got closer, he kept making one birdie and not letting me get any closer than that."
Fowler, a 25-year-old American also seeking a first major title, never really got close enough to worry to McIlroy apart from playing in the final pairing with him.
"It was a battle for me, I didn't hit my best but I had to fight through it. I made a late run but got on the gas a little bit too late. Rory played very steady. He hit some great shots, a great par save on 17 ended my hopes," he said.
Much prior to the day's main action Tiger Woods struggled in with a 75 which left him 69th out of the 72 players who made the cut - his worst performance in the 18 Opens he has played in.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson was never in the hunt as he closed with a 68 to get to five under and one of the biggest rounds of applause of the day went to 64-year-old five-time former Open winner Tom Watson who had a fine 68.
But the day deservedly belonged to McIlroy and the focus will now inevitably switch to Augusta National next April when he will be in a position to become just the sixth player to win all four major titles during their career.
Fowler Upbeat despite Open Near Miss
HOYLAKE, July 20, 2014 (AFP) - Valiant American Rickie Fowler said he couldn't be disappointed after a superb week that saw him come within two shots of catching British Open champion Rory McIlroy and a first major title on Sunday.
The popular Californian, who has a penchant for wearing flashy orange outfits, pushed his Florida neighbor and fellow 25-year-old, all the way before ending up in a tie for second with Spaniard Sergio Garcia at Royal Liverpool on Sunday.
The two friends, shared a jovial yet highly competitive rivalry, and are destined to go into battle again as part of their respective American and European teams when the Ryder Cup takes place at Gleneagles in September.
However, McIlroy now has three majors in the bag, one of only three players to achieve that feat by the age of 25, while Fowler is still looking for his maiden victory at a Grand Slam tournament.
He is also only the third player to shoot four consecutive rounds in the 60's in an British Open and not go on to win after finishing 15 under over 72 holes.
Sweden's Jesper Parnevik suffered that fate in 1994 while two-time winner Ernie Els of South Africa is the third player, one year earlier.
American captain Tom Watson revealed earlier in the day, after shooting a final round 68, that Fowler will certainly be in his team for the biennial event when Europe will defend their title.
"Two words to sum it up, Ryder Cup," Fowler said after his runner-up finish.
"I'm definitely pleased with the way I hung in there, the way I fought it out.
"I made some great par saves and tried to give Rory a little run at the end, but just got on the gas a little too late," added Fowler who is five months older than McIlroy.
"It was a great week there, as well but Rory just kind of distanced himself from the field a bit, especially with his finish yesterday.
"It's hard to be disappointed about it, because it was such a great week and with the way I had been playing in the majors, there was some pressure to play well.
"I mentioned yesterday that it doesn't feel like a big stage. It feels like I should be here so I'm definitely pleased with it and there's plenty more to come.
"I'll take 15-under in a lot of majors and sit there and wait in the clubhouse.
"Congratulations to Rory, he played awesome and it was just kind of fun to throw a few shots at him coming in. To see him win was pretty cool.
There is still the PGA Championship to come in August and then the always popular Ryder Cup a few weeks later which gives Fowler more opportunities to reach his goals.
"Going into the year the goal was to be in contention at majors and play well and have chances to win.
"And with the good play, the long-distance goal on that was to be on the Ryder Cup team.
"With the way I've played in the majors this year, that's definitely what has given me the opportunity to represent the country and play in the Ryder Cup."
Worst Result for Woods at Open
HOYLAKE, July 20, 2014 (AFP) - Tiger Woods completed his worst ever campaign at the British Open on Sunday with a final round of 75 to finish the tournament towards the bottom of the weekend field on six over par.
While it was not the American's career worst performance at a major, the 14-time slam winner will know he has a lot of work to do if he wants to return to the top.
"I got four rounds in but unfortunately I didn't play very well today," said Woods.
"It was a little different than it was on the first day, obviously. But, again, I just made too many mistakes. I had two triples, two doubles. 2 or 3 three-putts this week, just way too many mistakes
As Rory McIlroy arrived at the course looking confident in aviator-style sunglasses, the Florida native was heading in the opposite direction and likely to have departed the course before the six shot leader had even struck a ball.
A promising opening round of 69 left him three shots off the lead, but after narrolwy avoiding the cut with an 18th hole birdie on day two for a 77, his form failed to improve during the final two rounds.
The 38-year-old was blown out of contention after a third round 73, when scoring conditions were perfect, and Sunday again saw the former world number one pick up four bogeys and a double against three birdies.
While it was a bad week for Woods, he remains satisfied in getting in valuable tournament experience and testing his back after recent surgery.
"The fact I was able to play a few weeks ahead of time, and I'm only getting stronger and faster, which is great.
"I just had to get more game time. I think we did the smart thing by not playing too much leading into this event, just want to assess how my back was and where I need to strengthen, how I need to go about it, how to gain my explosiveness again, and all that's come along."
"I'm still building, I'm still working on my game and I'm still getting stronger and faster.
On his chances of being included in Tom Watson's American Ryder Cup team to play against Europe in September, Woods thinks he deserves to be in the team when asked if the captain should pick him.
"I would say yes, but that's my position, my take on it. Well, he's the captain.
"Obviously it's his decision, he's going to field the best 12 players that he thinks will win the Cup back and I hope I'm on that team."
Strong Finish from Thongchai at Open
HOYLAKE, July 20, 2014 (AFP) - After three consecutive 72s, Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee finally put up some red numbers on the board with a solid final round of one-under-par 71 at the British Open on Sunday.
The triple Asian Tour number one birdied the closing hole to end his campaign at the year's third major championship on a high note after trading four birdies against as many bogeys at Royal Liverpool.
"Played solid, holed a lot of short putts. I had a good round," said Thongchai.
"Made a couple of long ones and had one chip-in birdie on 15. I probably played the best round of the week. It's nice to finish one under par for the tournament. I enjoy playing on links course for sure."
With huge crowds at Royal Liverpool, Thongchai said no other event in the world offered the electrifying atmosphere around the 18th green as he delivered a closing birdie.
"It was amazing walking up the 18th. With good weather like this, you can see the crowds are out here in numbers. Even when I walked up to the first hole, it was massive. Unbelievable really," he said.
"This tournament has the biggest crowds and I'd love to come back here. With the big grandstands, you feel proud to be playing in front of them. It's fun," he said.
After leaving Bangkok on May 3 for his European summer sojourn which has seen him win in Sweden and finish top-five in France and Germany, the former Thai paratrooper was looking forward to a short break before resuming his chase for glory in the United States at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship.
"I'm feeling a bit tired as I've played a lot of golf. I'll stay in London for a week and then head over to the WGC and PGA before going home for a break," he said.
Thongchai, the world's number 34, said he would consider scaling down his international travels to ensure he is always in tip-top condition for the big events.
Collated final round scores in the 143rd British Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Sunday (par 72):
271 - Rory McIlroy (NIR) 66 66 68 71
273 - Sergio Garcia (ESP) 68 70 69 66, Rickie Fowler (USA) 69 69 68 67
275 - Jim Furyk (USA) 68 71 71 65
276 - Adam Scott (AUS) 68 73 69 66, Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 72 70 65
277 - Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 71 67 72 67, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 68 73 68 68
278 - Victor Dubuisson (FRA) 74 66 68 70, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 74 69 68 67, Shane Lowry (IRL) 68 75 70 65
279 - Dustin Johnson (USA) 71 65 71 72, Robert Karlsson (SWE) 69 71 70 69, Ryan Moore (USA) 70 68 73 68
280 - Francesco Molinari (ITA) 68 70 75 67, Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 70 72 70 68, David Howell (ENG) 72 70 70 68 281 George Coetzee (RSA) 70 69 74 68
282 - Chris Kirk (USA) 71 74 68 69, Keegan Bradley (USA) 73 71 69 69, Matteo Manassero (ITA) 67 75 68 72, Angel Cabrera (ARG) 76 69 70 67
283 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 74 70 71 68, Chris Wood (ENG) 75 70 73 65, Justin Rose (ENG) 72 70 69 72
284 Ben Martin (USA) 71 73 70 70, Byeong-Hun An (KOR) 72 71 69 72, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 70 71 76 67, Jimmy Walker (USA) 69 71 71 73, Brian Harman (USA) 72 73 68
71, Darren Clarke (NIR) 72 72 67 73
285 - Hunter Mahan (USA) 71 73 72 69, D.A. Points (USA) 75 69 72 69, Kristoffer Broberg (SWE) 70 73 70 72, David Hearn (CAN) 70 73 71 71
286 - Branden Grace (RSA) 71 72 69 74, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 70 68 76 72, Jordan Spieth (USA) 71 75 67 73
287 - Koumei Oda (JPN) 69 77 74 67, Kevin Stadler (USA) 73 72 71 71, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 69 74 73 71, Marc Warren (SCO) 71 68 72 76, Brendon Todd (USA) 73 73
74 67, Gary Woodland (USA) 75 69 72 71, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 72 72 72 71, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 72 73 73 69
288 - Paul Casey (ENG) 74 71 73 70, Zach Johnson (USA) 71 75 71 71, Gregory Bourdy (FRA) 75 69 74 70, Stewart Cink (USA) 71 75 73 69
289 - Bill Haas (USA) 70 72 73 74, Jason Dufner (USA) 70 74 74 71, Tom Watson (USA) 73 73 75 68
290 Kevin Na (USA) 76 70 70 74, Matt Kuchar (USA) 73 71 74 72, Kevin Streelman (USA) 72 74 69 75, Matthew Jones (AUS) 71 74 72 73
291 - John Senden (AUS) 71 74 75 71, Ryan Palmer (USA) 74 71 76 70, Brandt Snedeker (USA) 74 72 71 74, Chris Rodgers (ENG) 73 71 73 74, Jason Day (AUS) 73 73 74
71, James McLeary (SCO) 73 73 75 70
292 - Billy Hurley (USA) 73 72 76 71, Thorbjorn Olesen (DEN) 75 71 73 73, Luke Donald (ENG) 73 73 71 75
293 - Brooks Koepka (USA) 68 77 74 74, Charley Hoffman (USA) 74 72 76 71
294 - Tiger Woods (USA) 69 77 73 75
296 - Martin Kaymer (GER) 73 72 72 79
297 Matthew Every (USA) 75 71 73 78
298 Rhein Gibson (AUS) 72 74 74 78