Rory McIlroy became the first ever European player to win three of golf’s four major championships, by holding off stirring challenges from Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler to triumph in the 143rd Open Championship at the historic Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

Imperious displays during the first three rounds had seen McIlroy pull six shots clear of the field, putting him in a commanding, seemingly impregnable position going into Open Sunday. But as all astute followers of the game will realise, anything is possible, particularly on a course that was so susceptible to low scoring.

The 25-year-old Northern Irishman’s driver had been his most impressive club, with his long and accurate tee shots establishing the foundations that would see him separate himself from the rest. And he started in dominant fashion, with a similarly booming drive leading to an opening birdie.

Now seven shots clear of Fowler and Garcia, who had opened with a birdie of his own, which roused the large galleries in attendance at Hoylake.

However, the lead would incredibly be cut to just three shortly after. Fowler and Garcia both moved to within six, following birdies at the second and third respectively, before the 34-year-old Spaniard, who was in the final group alongside Tiger Woods in 2006, picked up another shot on the fifth. Tension would increase for McIlroy fans minutes later, when the two-time major champion bogeyed the fifth before a further dropped shot on the sixth.

Now, on a day that most expected to simply serve as a procession to victory, the destiny of the Claret Jug became just that little bit compellingly unclear.

While it has been the brilliance of McIlroy’s dominant play during the first three rounds that saw him reach 16-under after 54-holes, he would show some gutsy battling qualities by making consecutive birdies on the ninth and tenth to retain some breathing space from Garcia, who was now on fire.

The supremely gifted Spaniard, who has so often come undone towards the end of major championships, stirred the crowd by making eagle on the par five tenth. That had briefly cut the gap between the two European Ryder Cup stars to just two, momentarily, before McIlroy made that aforementioned birdie.

The muscles tighten, and the heart rate increases during the back-nine of a major championship, which certainly would have been the case for McIlroy following a bogey on the 13th that would suddenly move Garcia to within two of the lead.

But now pressing, the former Player’s Championship winner’s challenge would come unstuck, by failing to play his ball out of a greenside bunker on the 15th. It was a moment that stunned the large crowds who were providing Garcia with significant on-course support as he sought a maiden major victory.

Hoylake’s final three holes did leave some element of doubt, however, with the 16th and 18th both being par fives. And there was perhaps one late rally on the cards from Garcia, who birdied the third last hole to recover from that costly dropped shot on the previous hole.

However, Rory McIlroy would dispatch a powerful drive down 16th fairway to set up another birdie, which looked to have all-but sown up the Championship. His playing-partner, Fowler was somewhat overshadowed, but he would eventually birdie three of the last four holes to secure a tie for second alongside Garcia.

The Spaniard did threaten once again, but he left his birdie putt on the penultimate hole woefully short, leaving McIlroy, who made a brilliant up-and-down from off the green, with a three-shot advantage on the last tee.

The Ulsterman, who won both of his previous majors by an astonishing eight shots, would savour the moment walking up towards the 18th green, with the packed grandstands producing an impressive ovation of respect and admiration for a performance of the utmost quality. A closing par would be enough to complete a wire-to-wire triumph, and a two-shot victory.

"It feels incredible," McIlroy said afterwards. "It wasn't easy - there were a few guys making runs at me and I just needed to stay focused. To win three legs of the Grand Slam at 25 is a pretty big achievement."

An achievement that no European golfer has ever been able to claim. Only Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen have managed to win all four of golf’s modern professional major championships, and McIlroy will drive down Magnolia Lane next April with the chance to join that illustrations group.

Regardless, the young man has already elevated himself into the echelons of the legends. To win three major championships, particularly three different ones, places a player on another level of greatness. As Phil Mickelson discovered last year at Muirfield, to win the Open, with the unique nuances and demands of links golf, is an especially satisfying achievement for a player like McIlroy, whose credentials on the seaside had been questioned.

Yes, many will point out the soft conditions, and the better half of the draw that Rory found himself in on Thursday and Friday, but this was a brilliant performance. So dominant and impressive during the first three days, and showing some heart on Sunday to ensure that it wouldn’t become a disastrous day.

Sergio Garcia, a man who has endured a number of disasters in majors, thrilled the galleries and illustrated that he is one of the most talented players in the game. Older, and seemingly more content on an off the course, the best chapter in his career be yet to come.

It was another tremendous major championship for Rickie Fowler, who also finished in a tie for second at the U.S. Open following a tie for fifth at the Masters. He has become a contender in the game’s biggest events, particularly the Open, with his appreciation and passion for links golf being evidence by the quality of his play.

McIlroy had been someone who had expressed a degree of frustration with golf’s purest form, but, like Mickelson, he has eradicated those links demons. He will be looking ahead to the PGA Championship at Valhalla in three weeks, with a title defence at the home of golf, St. Andrews, to come in 12 month’s-time.

And don’t be surprised if this brilliantly gifted figure arrives at golf’s most treasured venue with another major title added to his resume.