Rory McIlroy may not have been able to win the British Open by the same margin as in his two previous major victories, but the 25-year-old’s victory still drew praise from his rivals. Here’s what others thought of his latest achievement.
"It's obviously very impressive golf. It's not an easy golf course and he's got complete control of what he's doing." — Phil Mickelson, who was succeeded as Open champion by McIlroy.
"I really don't have any doubt that he'll win there. I don't see any reason why he's not going to win there. It's hard to say that there's really any course that doesn't suit him when he's on his game and I've seen him play very well there." — Rickie Fowler believes McIlroy can complete the career grand slam in the Masters at Augusta.
"When he's in rhythm he's phenomenal. He doesn't have weaknesses and he has more strengths than most anyone else. When he's in rhythm, you'll see him shoot low numbers all the time." — World number one Adam Scott, who now has McIlroy breathing down his neck in the rankings.
"He played great. He was tested a few times. Rickie made a run on him yesterday and he answered the call late on the back nine. And Sergio (Garcia) has made a pretty good run at him today. But he stayed patient, it seems like. He's made a ton of pars, not very many mistakes and that's what it takes to win major championships." — Jim Furyk, whose closing 65 saw him finish fourth.
"Congrats McIlroyRory on your 2014 British Open title. See you for another round next time I'm in Ireland. " — Former US president Bill Clinton, via Twitter.
"Delighted for McIlroyRory. Best player won this week and I think it may be only the 1st of many times his name is etched on the jug!" Former Open champion Darren Clarke, also on Twitter.
“I’m immensely proud of myself. To sit here 25 years of age and win my third major championship and be three-quarters of the way to the career grand slam, I never dreamed of being at this point in my career so quickly.” — McIlroy sums up his own achievement.
