The 2014 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 143rd Open Championship, held from 17 to 20 July at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Merseyside, England. Rory McIlroy won his first Open Championship, two strokes ahead of runners-up Rickie Fowler and Sergio García, and became only the sixth to win the championship going wire-to-wire after 72 holes (being the sole leader after each round). It was McIlroy's third major title, having won the U.S. Open in 2011 and the PGA Championship in 2012; he became the first European to win three different majors and joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only three (since the first Masters Tournament in 1934) to win three majors by the age of 25.