THREE down, one to go.

Rory McIlroy's epic victory in the 143rd Open at Royal Liverpool has put the Irishman on the brink of making history.

Only five golfers have won all four Major titles in their careers: Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Gene Sarazen and Tiger Woods.

But if McIlroy, a former US Open and US PGA champion, can triumph in the US Masters in the future he will join them.

Who would bet against him doing so after watching the 25-year-old in action at Hoylake last week?

Certainly not his father Gerry who, along with three friends, put a £100 wager on him lifting the Claret Jug by the age of 25 at odds of 500-1 some 10 years ago.

The ridiculously talented young man from Holywood in County Down was a wire-to-wire winner after opening with a six-under-par 66 on Thursday.

He added another 66 on Friday and a 68 on Saturday and was no fewer than six shots clear of his nearest rival entering the final round yesterday.

Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler both did their very best to bridge what seemed like an unassailable gap. But the closest the Spaniard and the American got to the leader was two shots away.

McIlroy is only the third player ever to win three Major titles by the age of 25 - Nicklaus and Woods also achieved the remarkable feat.

But already he is thinking about adding to his haul - specifically in the US Masters at Augusta National next year.

"Even though there is one Major left this year that I desperately want to win, I'm looking forward to the US Masters next April and trying to complete the Grand Slam," he said.

"I am getting more comfortable there. I have always been comfortable from tee to green there. It has just taken me a few years to figure out the greens. You have to figure out where you need to miss them.

"But playing with an amateur marker called Jeff Knox in the third round last year really helped me. He is the best I have ever seen on the Augusta greens.

"I may have to take a couple of trips to Augusta and have a couple of practice rounds with him before next year. But I will go in there pretty confident."

No wonder. When he is playing well McIlroy appears, like Woods before him, vastly superior to his contemporaries in every department.

He drives the ball miles, peppers the pins with his iron shots, recovers superbly on the rare occasions he misses the target and is a sensational putter.

The sport is looking for a man to take over from Woods, who looked a shadow of his former self on the Wirral peninsula as he continued his comeback from injury.

Without a trace of arrogance, McIlroy has insisted that he can be that man. He said: "Golf is what I think about when I go to bed. It is what I think about when I get up in the morning. I just want to be the best golfer I can be.

"Golf is looking for somebody to put their hand up and try to dominate. I want to be that person. I want to be the guy who goes on and wins Majors and wins Majors regularly.

"I've had chances before to kick on from winning a Major. I did so for six months after winning the US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. I played really well.

"But I struggled last year. Missing the cut in the Open at Muirfield was a very low point. I had never missed the cut in an Open before. I missed playing at the weekend.

"I said to myself: 'I'll try to never let that happen again.' "My passion did not dwindle. The ability was still there. I just had to find a way to make it come out again.

"What a difference a year makes! This has turned into a great year for me. Winning the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth was huge. Getting my third Major is a massive step in the right direction.

"Now I just want to think ahead and go forward now and win as many Majors as I can. I feel like I have a lot more left in me. I know that trophies like the Claret Jug are within my capability. I would dearly love to win more."