HOYLAKE, England -- Rory McIlroy suffered several anxious moments but kept the jitters in check to rubber-stamp his status as the newest golfing great by landing the first British Open title of his career Sunday.

The 25-year-old Northern Irishman watched Sergio Garcia (66) cut his overnight lead from six strokes to two before repelling the last-round charge by his European Ryder Cup team mate to land his third major in a tantalizing finish.

McIlroy returned a closing 71 for a 17-under 271 to become the third youngest player in history to capture three of the four majors, following Jack Nicklaus (23) and Tiger Woods (24).

Garcia, still striving to shed the unwanted tag of being one of the best players never to win one of the 'Big Four' prizes, pushed the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 U.S. PGA champion all the way before settling for a share of second place.

The Spaniard was right in the hunt until he suffered a calamity at the 161-yard 15th, the shortest hole at Royal Liverpool.

Garcia's tee shot found a deep greenside bunker and he made a heartbreaking bogey four after taking two strokes to get out.

He ultimately shared runners-up spot with American Rickie Fowler (67) on 273. Fowler was always on the fringe of the battle as he closed with a well-crafted 67.

Woods, playing among the back markers, ended his campaign with a disappointing three-over 75 for 294, 6 over.

The former world number one was making only his second competitive appearance since undergoing a back operation in March.