The Open anniversaries: Rory McIlroy's 2014 victory
Tuesday 16 July 2019 13:45, UK
Rory McIlroy has the opportunity for a career-defining victory on home soil at The Open this week, five years on from his only win at the event.
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McIlroy arrives at Royal Portrush off the back of top-five finishes in his past three Open appearances, having claimed the third of four major titles at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
The Northern Irishman impressed throughout on Merseyside on his way to a wire-to-wire victory and the first of three wins in as many worldwide starts, finishing two strokes clear of Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia.
McIlroy grabbed the early advantage with a bogey-free 66 and posted the same score in the second round to take a four-shot lead into the week, before racing further ahead with a third-round 68.
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Six clear going into the final round, a 71 on Sunday was enough to keep McIlroy clear of the chasing pack, with a tap-in par at the last seeing him end the week on 17 under.
Victory saw McIlroy join Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus as the only players, at that time, to win three of golf's modern majors by the age of 25, having also won the US Open in 2011 and the PGA Championship in 2012.
The Open 2019 Countdown: Live - 17/07/2019
McIlroy followed his win by claiming the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational a fortnight later to move to world No 1, before earning a one-shot win at the PGA Championship for back-to-back major titles.
Watch The 148th Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports' dedicated channel! Live coverage continues with the Practice Round from 2pm on Sky Sports The Open and Sky Sports Main Event!
