HOYLAKE, England -Rory McIlroy had to work a little harder and sweat a little more. No matter. Just like his other two majors, this British Open was never really in doubt.

With two key birdies around the turn, and a powerful tee shot at just the right moment, McIlroy completed a wire-to-wire victory Sunday at Royal Liverpool and captured the third leg of the career Grand Slam.

The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland joined some elite company beyond the names on the silver claret jug.

Jack Nicklaus (23) and Tiger Woods (24) are the only other players to capture three different majors by the time they were 25. McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional and the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, both by eight shots.

“It feels incredible,” McIlroy said before heading out to collect the oldest trophy in golf. “Today wasn’t easy. A few guys were making runs at me. I just needed to stay focused and stay in the present and really concentrate on what I was doing out there.”

This could have been another romp except for a shaky stretch early for McIlroy, and solid efforts from Garcia and Fowler.

Garcia pulled within two shots with four holes to play until he put his tee shot in a pot bunker just right of the 15th green. His first shot failed to get over the 4-foot sodden wall and rolled back into the sand. He made bogey, and two birdies over the final three holes were not enough. Garcia shot 66 and was runner-up in a major for the fourth time.

Fowler, playing in the final group for the second straight major, never got closer than three shots. He played bogey-free for a 273.

It was the first time ever that two straight majors were won wire to wire. Martin Kaymer did it last month at Pinehurst No. 2, winning the U.S. Open by eight shots.

McIlroy, who finished at 17-under 271, wasn’t the only big winner Sunday.

Ten years ago, his father three friends each put up 100 pounds ($170) at 500-1 odds that McIlroy would win the British Open before he turned 26.

Boy Wonder made good on the bet with a brand of golf that had him marked early on as golf’s next great player. The victory moves him to No. 2 in the world, perhaps on his way to regaining the No. 1 ranking that two years ago looked as if would be his for years to come.

Ontario-born David Hearn shot 71 in the final round to finish at 3-under and tie for 32nd along with the likes of Hunter Mahan, Jordan Spieth and Louis Oosthuizen.

Montreal (Golf Canada) – The final four spots into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open field will be determined Monday as the Final Qualifier is set for Club de Golf St-Raphaël near Montreal.

Notables in the field include two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen along with Canada’s Derek Gillespie who will look to make his eighth start at the RBC Canadian Open and Rémi Bouchard who has played in Canada’s National Open Championship six times.

A total of 60 competitors will challenge for one of four spots into the field for Canada’s National Open Championship.

The Final Qualifier features 18 holes of stroke play with the low four competitors receiving an exemption directly into the 2014 RBC Canadian Open field.  If necessary, a hole-by-hole playoff will be conducted immediately following the conclusion of play.

Click here for pairings, start times and results for RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifying on Monday, July 21. Results will be available here as players complete their rounds.

Bill Burns of Sydney, NS claimed his first major title at the MCT Insurance Mid-amateur this weekend, and in doing so accomplished a lifelong goal.

“It really feels incredible,” he said. “I have been playing these events since I was 24 hoping I could win one and to win one today at 62 is simply awesome.”

Burns, entered the day with a one stroke lead over Aaron Nickerson, and never relinquished his hold on first place on his way to a four stroke win Sunday at Abercrombie Golf and Country Club.

Burns battled a challenging course and was admittedly nervous playing against experienced golfers like Aaron Nickerson, but said he was happy with how he handled himself.

“I was really nervous on the last few holes,” he added. “Aaron’s a great player and he has experience in these situations and won titles before, but I am really happy with how I kept my composure to win”.

Along with an impressive mental game, his play never hinted at the fact he is coming off a recent hip surgery, one that will unfortunately mean he will have to miss the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championships this year.

Burns, an accomplished athlete, was inducted into the Cape Breton Sports Hall of Fame in 2012, but this latest win may be his new career highlight.

“When I won the Four Ball a few years back at Lingan that was my proudest moment, but now this has to be it,” he explained.

Second place was a 3-way tie at +10 between Nickerson, Steven Ward, and Glenn Robinson.  Nickerson, Robinson, Paul Coulson, and Chad Hoffman will represent Nova Scotia at the National Championships in Barrie, Ontario.

Bill intends to defend his latest title next year when the Mid-Amater will be held at the Lingan Golf and Country Club.

For full results and tournament info please click here.

HOYLAKE, England — With a thunderous drive down the middle of the fairway, Rory McIlroy began the final round of the British Open with a commanding lead Sunday and a keen sense of history.

McIlroy knew that a victory at Royal Liverpool would give him the third leg in a career Grand Slam. He already won the U.S. Open in 2011 and the PGA Championship in 2012.

“I’ve got a lot to play for,” he said beforehand. “This is a huge day for me.”

Not backing off a bit, he pulled out the driver at No. 1 and rocketed it more than 300 yards, straight as can be. Then, after sticking his approach to 15 feet, he rolled in the birdie putt to take his score to 17 under – just two shots away from matching Tiger Woods’ scoring record for any major in relation to par. Woods won the 2000 Open at St. Andrews with a `19-under total.

The 25-year-old McIlroy began the day with a six-stroke lead. Barring an unprecedented collapse, he would head to Augusta National next spring looking to join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen as the only players to win all four of golf’s biggest events.

Only Woods and Nicklaus won three of the majors at 25 or younger.

McIlroy posted three straight rounds in the 60s on the way to a 16-under 200. He teed off in the final group with Rickie Fowler, knowing that a victory would also mean a big payday for his dad.

British media reported that Gerry McIlroy and three of his friends placed a combined bet of 400 pounds (now $680) in 2004 on McIlroy winning the British Open before he turned 26.

McIlroy was 15 at the time.

The odds were 500-1, so they would win 200,000 pounds ($340,000) if McIlroy lifted the claret jug.

They had to like their chances. No player had surrendered such a big lead on the final day of the Open.

Fowler was at 206, while Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia were another shot back. The only other players closer than 10 shots to the lead were France’s Victor Dubuisson (208) and Italy’s Edoardo Molinari (209).

Storms rumbled through Hoylake after the third round, which the R&A wisely started early off two tees because of the forecast, but there was plenty of sunshine for the early starters Sunday and a freshening breeze off the Irish Sea.

Sixty-four-year-old Tom Watson, playing what is likely his next-to-last British Open, showed he’s still got plenty of game by shooting a 4-under 68. He finished at 1-over 289 for the tournament.

“It was a good day,” said Watson, a five-time Open champion who will be the U.S. captain for the Ryder Cup this fall. “I played a real solid round of golf.”

No so for Tiger Woods. Playing only his second tournament since back surgery, he had hoped to give Watson a strong reason to be included on that American team. Woods sure didn’t impress at Royal Liverpool, finishing five shots behind the captain.

Woods made another double bogey – his third of the week, to go along with two triple bogeys – and struggled to the finish with a 75. That left him at 294 for the week and a staggering 22 shots behind McIlroy before the leader even teed off.

“I just made too many mistakes,” Woods said, “way too many mistakes.”

Representing Canada, Brampton native David Hearn sits tied for 36th and at par.

BOISE, Idaho – Steve Wheatcroft rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Steven Alker and win the Albertsons Boise Open on Sunday.

The pair battled back and forth at Hillcrest Country Club and were tied at 24 under after regulation play.

Wheatcroft watched as Alker’s 30-foot birdie try stopped a couple feet short of the cup and then stepped up and made his putt.

“This is unbelievable. I’m just speechless,” said the 36-year old from Jacksonville, Florida, who won for the second time in his career. “I’ve been playing so badly this year that I thought I might be done. I lost all belief.”

Wheatcroft rediscovered his game at last week’s Utah championship where he finished tied for 21st after opening with rounds of 65-66.

“There’s something about this place,” said Wheatcroft, runner-up to Luke Guthrie here in 2012.

“It started to sink in a few weeks ago that if I didn’t start playing better I’d have to find something else to do. I knew I had to keep fighting and I had some good tournaments ahead of me. I really thought I was going to win this week.”

Wheatcroft started the final day two shots back of Alker, who broke the tournament’s 54-hole record with a 20-under 195 total.

Rookie Justin Thomas put a charge on late and posted a 65 to reach 22 under, good for third place.

Indiana rookie Chase Wright (66), No. 2 money winner Andrew Putnam (66) and second-round co-leader Zack Sucher (70) finished tied for fourth, five off the pace.

The victory for Wheatcroft vaulted him from No. 89 to No. 11 on the money list and guaranteed him a return trip to the PGA Tour in 2015.

“I’ve had an awful year and now I’ve had two good weeks and now it’s a good year,” Wheatcroft said. “With a baby on the way you worry about where the money is going to come from. That check is going to pay for a lot of diapers.”

Canada’s Nick Taylor was the leading Canadian. He finished tied for 15th at 15-under 269.

Thunder Bay, ONd – Cincinnati, Ohio’s Wes Homan carded a 4-under 68 on Saturday at Whitewater Golf Club to take a two shot lead heading into the final round of the inaugural Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel.

The 30-year old bested playing partner Greg Eason of England, who began the day tied with Homan, by two shots in round three to reach 16-under through 54 holes, five clear of Apopka, Florida’s Jeffrey Corr in third and seven clear of two players in fourth. Homan will take a solo lead for the first time after any round in his four seasons on PGA TOUR Canada.

“I’m excited. You can’t ask for a better position. That’s why I was here today, and we’ll go see what we can do tomorrow,” said Homan, a Southern Methodist University grad.

Homan’s round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 7^th, when his approach from the fairway struck the flagstick and set up a short eagle putt. He would go on to convert and jump two shots in front of Eason, where he finished the day.

“I had 255 to the flag. It looked really good in the air and I saw it dink off the flag. Maybe it’ll go in tomorrow,” said Homan of his approach on the 7th. “I hit some really great shots. I made some good birdies and had one bad club choice and bad a bogey, but I feel like I can bounce back pretty well from that. It was nice.”

Homan’s best finish on PGA TOUR Canada is solo second at the 2011 Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist, when he shot a final round 65 to finish two shots behind eventual winner Jose de Jesus Rodriguez of Mexico. Homan, who currently sits 22^nd on the Order of Merit, said he looked forward to the challenge of trying to convert the lead into his first PGA TOUR Canada win.

“It’s just me versus the course,” said Homan. “We’ll see what I can do. Somebody could play great and steal it from me, but as long as I try as hard as I can on every shot that’s all I can do.”

Eason, a 22-year old rookie, said he liked how he managed the pressure of playing in the day’s final pairing and was excited to be in his position despite falling two behind.

“Second place, I’d have taken that before the week started. If I can play some nice golf and hole a few putts, then who knows,” said the University of Central Florida grad, who birdied the 17^th to pull within two of Homan. Eason added that he didn’t plan on worrying about what Homan would do on Sunday, and instead would try to focus on his own performance.

“To be honest, I’m not really going to focus on that. I’m just going to go ahead and play my own game and see where I end up. If it’s good enough it’s good enough, and if it’s not, it’s not,” he said.

Victoria, British Columbia’s Cory Renfrew was low Canadian through three rounds in sixth spot at 8-under following a 5-under 67.

RENFREW LOOKING TO SPRINGBOARD FROM WEB.COM TOUR EXPERIENCE
After a pair of starts on the Web.com Tour over the last two weeks, Cory Renfrew returned to PGA TOUR Canada this week with renewed focus and motivation, having gotten a taste of the next level and knowing he can get back there soon with a solid finish to his summer.

“Knowing I can compete out there gives me confidence, and knowing I can win out here and compete at the top level is big too. That’s my goal for the rest of the season,” said Renfrew, who played the Nova Scotia Open on a sponsor’s exemption and finished in the top 25 to gain entry into the following week’s Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank.

The University of British Columbia grad carded a 5-under 67 on Saturday to move up 19 spots to solo sixth in Thunder Bay, and said his experience at the next level has motivated him to try and finish in The Five and earn Web.com Tour status for next year.

“I was ecstatic to make it for two weeks on the Web.com Tour,” said Renfrew. “I played well in Nova Scotia and had fun. It’s a different kind of ballgame out there and I’m hopefully going to use this as practice for out there for years to come.”

Renfrew, who won the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON in 2012 and finished 15^th on the Order of Merit last year, has made two of three cuts this season and finished a season-best T-34 in Fort McMurray.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lee-Anne Pace made a name for herself as an amateur in her native South Africa, then proved herself with eight wins on the Ladies European Tour.

Now she’s ready to make waves in the U.S.

Pace shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday to grab a share of the third-round lead with Laura Diaz in the Marathon Classic. She can barely express what a breakthrough win on the LPGA Tour might bring.

“It’ll mean quite a lot to be able to come out here and play well,” she said after recovering from bogeys at 11th and 12th holes with three late birdies. “It already has made my week. I was so tired in the beginning of the week and now this has happened, so I’m very excited.”

Pace could have foundered after losing the two shots to par. But she came right back to birdie the next two holes and then added another at the par-5 17th to join Diaz at 11-under 202.

The 33-year-old, in her 10th year as a pro, wants to keep it simple in the final round at Highland Meadows.

“I play a very similar type of game every time I go out there: Hit the fairways and try to hit the green and make the putt. And so far it’s been working,” she said. “Hopefully, coming down the stretch it’s going to be enough.”

It was a day of highs and lows for Diaz, the leader since birdieing her first five holes in an opening 62. She led by four and then three strokes after the first two rounds.

Chasing her first win since 2002, she could have regained the outright lead but left a 7-foot birdie putt short on the 18th to finish with a 71.

Up by three shots on the fourth hole on Saturday, the 39-year-old faltered with a double-bogey.

After pull-hooking her drive under a pine tree, she and caddie Pete Smith moved away some twigs and the ball moved. The gallery around her let out a collective gasp. She quickly assessed herself a one-shot penalty and ended up punching back to the fairway, hitting to the green and two-putting for the double.

By the time Diaz got to the tee at No. 9, rookie Jaye Marie Green’s torrid play had pulled her into a tie for the lead. Playing one group ahead, Pace would nail a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe to join them.

But before Pace’s putt, Diaz hit the shot of the day.

Officials had moved the tees up on the 255-yard, par-4 hole to allow players to go for the green off the tee. Pace and playing partner So Yeon Ryu, the 2012 winner of the Marathon, vacated the putting surface to allow Diaz and Lydia Ko to hit their drives. Diaz’s ball landed 25 yards short of the green and had a bead on the pin before edging past. Diaz later rolled in the 10-foot downhill eagle putt to regain a two-shot lead.

Diaz bogeyed the 12th. The lead remained one shot until Pace hit into the deep rough near the bunker fronting the par-5 17th, dropped a delicate gap wedge to 8 feet and then rolled in the birdie putt to forge the tie.

Diaz consistently left birdie putts short all day.

Asked if a player can ever forget how to win after a long respite, she said, “I can’t say that I knew how to do it then, and I don’t know that I know how to do it now.”

Green applied pressure with a low round early on the cloudy day.

The medalist in last year’s LPGA Tour qualifying school, she turned in 30 and birdied four holes in a row before closing with a par on the par-5 closing hole. The 63 allowed her to climb from a tie for 31st at the start of the day to a share of the lead before Diaz’s eagle.

Green is tied a shot back with Ryu, who birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th holes for a 68.

Another shot back, at 9-under 204, was Ko, who birdied the last two holes in a 70. The group at 205 included Cristie Kerr (68) and last week’s Women’s British Open champion, Mo Martin, who had a 67.

Eighteen players are within four shots of the lead.

Pace sounded thrilled by the all the potential mayhem.

“Yeah, the whole LPGA is chasing,” she said.

Canada’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham slipped down the leaderboard into a tie for 19th at 6-under 207. The Team Canada member carded a 72 on moving day.

Quebec’s Maude Aimee-LeBlanc shot 69 Saturday. She’s sitting at 3-under 210 and is tied for 43rd.

HOYLAKE, England – From the time they faced each other in the Walker Cup, a couple of 18-year-olds with the world at their feet, Rickie Fowler figured he’d go at it again someday with Rory McIlroy in a major championship.

If only it was a fair fight.

Fowler will be playing in the final group of a major for the second straight time, but he faces a daunting six-stroke deficit heading to Sunday at the British Open.

With a brilliant finish to the third round, McIlroy put himself in prime position to capture his third major championship. Fowler only hopes he can put a bit of pressure on the leader.

Fowler and McIlroy were both rising young stars when they played in the 2007 Walker Cup, one of the top amateur competitions.

HOYLAKE, England – If organizers of the British Open needed any vindication of their historic decision to use a two-tee start at Royal Liverpool on Saturday, it came from Rory McIlroy about 30 minutes after his round.

Torrential rain was pounding the roof of the media tent as McIlroy was holding a news conference, discussing his third-round 68 that inched him closer to a first claret jug.

Asked if The R&A made the correct decision to go off two tees and send the whole field out early, the tournament leader looked up and pointed to the skies.

“It was a great decision,” McIlroy said. “They got it right.”

In a move that riled traditionalists, The R&A looked at the forecast of thunderstorms and heavy rain and decided late Friday to make an unprecedented schedule change. Half of the field was to begin on the 10th hole and all 72 remaining players were to set out within two hours of each other.

Sure enough, the heavy rain arrived – 30 minutes after McIlroy rolled in his eagle 3 at No. 18 to secure a six-shot lead with the last action of the day.

Players finishing their third rounds were generally accepting of the two-tee start.

“We’ve never done it before at the Open Championship,” said 2011 champion Darren Clarke, who was disbelieving when he was told over dinner on Friday. “It’s one of the beauties – you get good tee times, you get bad tee times.

“But they had to do it today, and it looks like they’ve made the perfect call.”

There had been only intermittent outbreaks of rain and barely any wind at Hoylake by the time McIlroy wrapped up the third round shortly before 4 p.m. local time (11 a.m. EDT).

McIlroy’s group finished about three hours earlier than usual on a Saturday at the British Open.

There was thunder and flashes of lightning in parts of the northwest of England overnight, and the forecast of more of the same across the area on Saturday led The R&A to act. A two-tee start had never been done in the tournament’s 154-year history.

Spectators arrived with their rain gear and umbrellas. A sign at the back of the ninth green read: “Be prepared, thunderstorm possible.”

In fact, the main gripe among players and fans was that they were not given enough time to prepare. One spectator was heard complaining that the decision was made too late, because it disrupted his travel plans.

“There’s a lot of surprise (among players) that no one could get their tee time until 10:30 last night,” 2013 U.S. Open champion Justin Rose said. “That’s very tough when you’re trying to prepare for the tournament.”

Swedish player Henrik Stenson said he had gone to bed not knowing his tee time.

“My caddie woke up in the middle of the night and checked it,” Stenson said.

The split tee times also meant that the duties of Ivor Robson, the official starter for the British Open since 1975, were halved. Players getting underway on the 10th were introduced to the crowds by European Tour official Mike Stewart.

“I don’t know what to do now,” Robson told the BBC after calling out his last name for the day at 11:01 a.m. local time (6:01 EDT). “The last two days the tee times have been 6:24 (a.m.) till just past 4 (p.m.). I will watch golf I suppose.”

Thunder Bay, Ont. – Cincinnati, Ohio’s Wes Homan and England’s Greg Eason shot a pair of matching 7-under 65s Friday at Whitewater Golf Club to share the 36-hole lead at the inaugural Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel.

The pair stood three shots clear of Joshua Stone in third place through at 12-under par through two rounds, carding identical opening rounds of 67-65.

“It’s been great. I’ve played really well, putted well and had a lot of fun this week,” said Eason, who is without a bogey over his first two rounds in Thunder Bay. “The course suits me, I think. I’ve got a nice game plan for it and I’ve managed to play well.”

Homan, playing in the morning’s first group off the first tee, took advantage of the calm conditions with four consecutive birdies to begin his round, and said that he had been waiting to emerge with a pair of good rounds over the past few weeks.

“I’ve been hitting it where I’ve wanted for a couple of weeks and just waiting for some putts to drop, and finally it’s kind of shaking my way, so we’ll see what we can do,” Homan said, adding that the real fun was about to begin with rounds three and four on the horizon. “Thursday and Friday, you just want to get past them and play the weekend and that’s when the fun starts, so I’m excited.”

Eason, a 22-year old rookie on PGA Tour Canada, said his solid play over the first two rounds was thanks in part to an adjusted attitude and style of play. The University of Central Florida grad, who has made every cut this year and has one top-10 finish, admitted he has been putting pressure on himself to perform in his first season as a pro and took a more relaxed approach this week.

“I’ve been surprised how many good players there are out here. I can’t believe how many good players there are and what sort of score it takes to win an event,” said Eason. “I’ve been kind of taken aback by that. It’s been very penal with how punishing you can be on yourself for scores that really aren’t that bad.”

The native of Leicester, England said he realized after a handful of events that he would be better off playing his own game than worrying about other players shooting low scores around him, part of the maturation process in his first season as a pro.

“I’ve been trying to play a little smarter this week than I’ve been the last few rounds and it’s paying off,” said Eason, who was named an All-American in his final season at UCF this spring. “I’m just trying not to think about what score is going to win and just get the best score I can.”

“I’ve been trying to force it, looking at some of the scores. I mean, 24-under won [at the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open presented by SaskTel] a few weeks back,” said Eason. “You don’t get that without being aggressive, so I was trying to be aggressive, but this week I kind of took a step back and looked at fairways and greens and it’s been paying off.”

One shot behind Stone in a tie for fourth were Seattle, Washington’s Blake Snyder and Order of Merit No. 2 Tim Madigan of Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Los Angeles’ Bryan Bergna recorded the second double eagle of the 2014 season on Friday, holing a 6-iron from 210 yards on the par-5 third hole at Whitewater Golf Club. The albatross was part of a 4-under 68 that moved Bergna up 49 spots into a tie for 22nd.

“It looked good the whole way. When it disappeared, it was amazing. It landed towards the front and released out. It was crazy,” Bergna said. “I thought it was funny because I’ve never had a hole-in-one and I get a double eagle before I’ve ever had one. I was 4-under through 3 holes, so it was a good start.”

Surrey, B.C.’s Devin Carrey also recorded a hole-in-one with a 5-iron from 204 yards at the 15^th.