Spieth takes victory at the Open, with McIlroy tied fourth

Jordan Spieth has won the Open, moving him to within one win of a career Major Grand Slam.

Spieth saw off the rest of the field on the final day at Royal Birkdale to card 12-under-par, three better than runner up Matt Kuchar, and in the process added the Claret Jug to his wins in both the US Open and The Masters.

Spieth had started the day in the lead on 11-under-par, but had a mixed day en route to victory. He bogeyed three of the opening four holes and saw his overnight lead evaporate.

Kuchar matched Spieth all day and took the lead on the 13^th as Spieth added another bogey to his card. The hole took 20 minutes for Spieth to complete as his tee shot ended in the rough and required a search party to be found, before he eventually carded just one shot above the par.

But Spieth bounced back to birdie the 14^th par three, before an eagle putt on 15 and a birdie on 17 saw the 23-year-old see off his compatriot Kuchar’s challenge by three strokes.

Norther Ireland’s Rory McIlroy finished the day in tied fourth with Rafael Cabrera-Bello on five-under-par after a final round 67 as he failed to play the super low-scoring round needed to turn around his challenge after carding 71, 68 and 69 over the first three rounds.

"It's a lost opportunity," McIlroy said. "I felt like I had a chance [on Saturday] to get in a few shots better than I did and I didn't.

"That would have put me a bit closer to the lead going out today and I would have been able to put a bit of pressure on the guys in front of me. But that's the way it goes.

"I wish I could have had that start back, but these things happen and I'm just proud of how I held it together and battled."

McIlroy birdied the ninth and 11th, before bogeying the 15, and then pulled an eagle out of the bag on the 17th, before saving par from a bunker shot on the last.

"It was a step in the right direction, I guess," McIlroy added. "Looking
at what happened the last few weeks, this is obviously a lot better.

"The game is in much better shape than it was heading into this week, so I'm happy with that. It's hard whenever you feel like you've had a chance to win a Major and you're not quite there.

"It's disappointing, but at the same time I have to take the positives and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks."

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