It was a brilliant tournament for American Brian Harman, as he walked into Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England and dominated the field in The Open Championship. Harman won the tournament with a cumulative score of 13 under par, six strokes better than four golfers who were 7-under. Rory McIlroy, one of the favorites going into the tournament, finished seven strokes back at 6-under.

Tom Kim, Jason Day, Sepp Straka and Jon Rahm finished at 7 under par, while Emiliano Grillo finished tied with McIlroy at 6-under.

While McIlroy played well throughout the tournament, it was never good enough to threaten Harman. The left-handed Harman led by five strokes after the second round, the same margin after the third round and he pushed his final edge to six strokes.

McIlroy has not won a major title since the 2014 PGA Championship. He had a series of close calls and good performances in the majors, and he remains optimistic about his play in the game's most important tournaments.

“Most times I tee it up, I'm right there,” McIlroy said. “I can't sit here and be too frustrated. If you think about my performances in the majors between like 2016 and 2019, [this] is a lot better than that.”

Rory McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in 7 of his last 8 major championships. He believes he will be able to turn things around and earn another major championship in the foreseeable future. “I'm optimistic about the future,” McIlroy said. “I just keep looking forward.”

McIlroy can now focus on theFedEx Cup, the Race to Dubai and theh Ryder Cup.