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St. Andrews, Scotland.<\/em><\/strong> In near total darkness in August 2014 Rory McIlroy capped a superb summer of world class golf capturing the final two majors of that year — the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool and the PGA Championship at Valhalla.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The swift ascension up the golfing ladder had him match what only Jack Nicklaus and his idol Tiger Woods had done — win four majors by the age of 25. The sky appeared limitless for McIlroy and many even opined he had the wherewithal to be on a Woods trajectory of greatness.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Fast forward nearly eight years and the major championship total for McIlroy remains fixed on the number four. The Ulsterman is hoping that dubious streak will end Sunday during the final round of the 150th<\/sup>\u00a0Open Championship.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Rory is tied after 54 holes with Viktor Hovland and the two were paired for the third\u00a0round, each finishing the day in 66 strokes. Neither man blinked — both determined to remain in the thick of things. Both wanting to hear the magic words that conclude an Open — the “champion golfer of the year is …”<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
The expectations for McIlroy were sky high when claiming his second PGA Championship in 2014. He has finished in the top ten 16 times in the various majors since — including the first three majors this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Tournament<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2007<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2008<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2009<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2010<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2011<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2012<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2013<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | 2014<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Masters Tournament<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | \u00a0<\/td>\r\n | \u00a0<\/td>\r\n | T20<\/td>\r\n | CUT<\/td>\r\n | T15<\/td>\r\n | T40<\/td>\r\n | T25<\/td>\r\n | T8<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
U.S. Open<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | \u00a0<\/td>\r\n | \u00a0<\/td>\r\n | T10<\/td>\r\n | CUT<\/td>\r\n | 1<\/td>\r\n | CUT<\/td>\r\n | T41<\/td>\r\n | T23<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Open Championship<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | T42*<\/td>\r\n | \u00a0<\/td>\r\n | T47<\/td>\r\n | T3<\/td>\r\n | T25<\/td>\r\n | T60<\/td>\r\n | CUT<\/td>\r\n | 1<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PGA Championship<\/strong><\/td>\r\n | \u00a0<\/td>\r\n | \u00a0<\/td>\r\n | T3<\/td>\r\n | T3<\/td>\r\n | T64<\/td>\r\n | 1<\/td>\r\n | T8<\/td>\r\n | 1<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n *Low Amateur<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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