CARNOUSTIE, Scotland -- Francesco Molinari has won the British Open for his first major title after emerging from a crowded pack including Tiger Woods in a wild final round at Carnoustie.

It caps a stunning stretch for the 15th-ranked Molinari, who has won on the PGA and European Tours in the previous two months.

Molinari shot a bogey-free, 2-under 69 to finish on 8-under 276. He became the first Italian to capture a major championship. He holed a 5-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to take the outright lead. Four players -- Xander Schauffele, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Kevin Kisner --tied for second place at 6 under.

Woods briefly held the outright lead in a stunning turnaround for the 14-time major champion, the first time he had led a major tournament in seven years. Woods birdied two of his first six holes to get to 7-under-par and capitalized on collapses by Jordan Spieth and Schauffele, the previous co-leaders.

But a double bogey on 11 dashed Woods' hopes of capturing his first major victory since 2008. He sent his second shot into the gallery, with the ball rebounding out into the rough. He duffed his chip, then three-putted from off the green.

He fell to 5 under, a stroke behind four players heading into the tough back nine. He finished tied for third.</s>Tiger Woods moved to within one stroke of The Open lead following a fine start to his final round.

The 14-time major champion began the day four shots back from the trio of overnight leaders, headlined by defending champion Jordan Spieth.

While Spieth and Xander Schauffele bogeyed the fifth to drop back to eight under, Kevin Kisner dropped three shots over as many holes before clawing one back to remain in contention.

But it was the gains from Woods at four and six that had the Carnoustie crowds buzzing.

Fresh from his best major round in seven years on Saturday, with the 42-year-old signing for a 66 on Saturday, Woods surged to seven under, with playing partner Francesco Molinari one further back.

However, the challenges of Rory McIlroy and a resurgent Justin Rose, who only narrowly made the cut, faded.

McIlroy was one over for the day at the turn, with Rose's slim hopes apparently dashed by a bogey at the fifth as the Olympic champion slipped back to three under.</s>Jordan Spieth will take a share of the lead into the final round of the 147th Open Championship as he looks to become the first back-to-back winner for a decade.

Jordan Spieth will take a share of the lead into the final round of the 147th Open Championship as he looks to become the first back-to-back winner for a decade.

Jordan Spieth in tie for the lead at Open Championship but McIlroy and Woods lurking ahead of final round

But he could get the battle with Tiger Woods he has always pictured in his head with the 14-time major winner lurking ominously among the chasing pack after a thrilling day of low scoring at a defenceless Carnoustie.

The tone was set when Spieth drove the first green on the 380-yard par four and holed from 12 feet for eagle on his way to a bogey-free 65 to finish nine under par, a total matched by compatriots Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner.

Another American Kevin Chappell is two shots off the lead with Italy's Francesco Molinari on six under and Woods another stroke back alongside Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Webb Simpson, Alex Noren, Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson.

"I've always wanted to battle it out with Tiger in a major - who hasn't?" Spieth said. "I've played it out at Augusta in my head."

The last player to make a successful title defence was Ireland's Padraig Harrington, who coincidentally won at Carnoustie in 2007 and again 12 months later at Royal Birkdale.

Spieth's victories would be the other way around and make it four wins in his last 15 majors, during which time the 24-year-old has also finished second twice, third and fourth.

One of those runners-up finishes came after blowing a five-shot lead with nine holes to play in defence of his Masters title, while the fourth place came when he finished a shot outside a three-man play-off for the 2015 Open at St Andrews in pursuit of the third leg of an unprecedented calendar grand slam.

"I can certainly draw on the all major championship experiences, good and bad that I've had. I've had a career's worth in a few years," said Spieth, who admitted he found it "difficult" to hand over the Claret Jug when he arrived in Carnoustie on Monday.

"I know as well as anyone that anything can happen in the Open. I'm not getting ahead of myself, I'm just in a good position."

Woods has not played in the Open since 2015 due to injury and is without a victory since 2013, while the last of his 14 major titles to date came a decade ago in the US Open.

But the 42-year-old has made a remarkable return to action since undergoing spinal fusion surgery last April, and a third round of 66 certainly had his legion of fans believing in what had once seemed impossible.

"It seemed like everybody was shooting six, seven under and I figured I could probably do the same and I needed to with the leaders starting at six. I need to go get it," Woods said.

"It's one of my better rounds I've played. I felt I really had control of the ball."

That was certainly not true on the 18th, his tee shot seemingly destined to find the Barry Burn only to take a fortunate bounce to the right to stay on dry land.

But Woods made the most of his good fortune to make par and added: "It kept me in the fight."

England's Justin Rose is a shot behind Woods after earlier equalling the lowest score in an Open at Carnoustie with a brilliant 64.

Rose, who finished fourth in the Open as a 17-year-old amateur 20 years ago, birdied the 18th hole on Friday evening to make the halfway cut with nothing to spare on three over par.

And the Olympic champion carried on where he left off on Saturday, taking advantage of benign conditions to fire seven more birdies to match the 64s recorded by Steve Stricker and Richard Green the last time Carnoustie staged the Open in 2007.

"It was massive to take advantage today," Rose said after the lowest score of his career in any major. "I was very excited last night not to be down the road, ruing another Open opportunity gone. I picked up where I left off and it was a great day's work."</s>CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) — The Latest on the British Open (all times local):

Francesco Molinari has won the British Open for his first major title after emerging from a crowded pack including Tiger Woods in a wild final round at Carnoustie.

Molinari shot a bogey-free, 2-under 69 to finish on 8-under 276. He became the first Italian to capture a major championship.

Francesco Molinari has set the clubhouse target at 8-under par after shooting a bogey-free, 2-under 69 at the British Open.

Molinari holed a 5-foot birdie putt at No. 18 to take the outright lead, leaving Xander Schauffele alone in second place on 7 under. Schauffele has two holes remaining.

Molinari would be the first Italian to win a major championship.

Tiger Woods shot 71 and was 5 under overall.

Francesco Molinari has taken the outright lead at the British Open for the first time, and Tiger Woods is still not out of it.

Molinari tapped in for birdie at the par-5 No. 14 to break out of a five-way tie for the lead, which included Rory McIlroy after his eagle at the same hole.

Woods also birdied No. 14 — after playing a pitch shot from the back of the green that is shared with No. 4 — to move back to 5 under, two off Molinari.

Eddie Pepperell says he was a “little hung over” during his round of 4-under 67 that has left him one shot off the lead at the British Open.

After shooting 71 on Saturday to start the final round eight strokes off the lead, Pepperell said he was “so frustrated” and had “too much to drink last night.”

The No. 72-ranked English golfer hadn’t been hopeful ahead of Sunday’s round, saying “today was, really, I wouldn’t say a write-off, but I didn’t feel I was in the golf tournament.”

Pepperell teed off at 11.40 a.m. local time with Phil Mickelson.

Tiger Woods has dropped out of the lead at the British Open after a double-bogey at the 11th hole.

Woods sent his second shot into the gallery, with the ball rebounding out into the rough. He duffed his chip, then three-putted from off the green.

He fell to 5 under, a stroke behind four players — Jordan Spieth, Kevin Kisner, Kevin Chappell and Francesco Molinari — heading into the tough back nine at Carnoustie.

Tiger Woods is in the outright lead of the British Open after a stunning turnaround at Carnoustie.

Woods has parred his last four holes and capitalized on collapses by Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele, the previous co-leaders.

Spieth bogeyed No. 5 then made double-bogey at the sixth hole after taking a drop then three-putting.

Schauffele bogeyed Nos. 5 and 6, then double-bogeyed the seventh hole.

Woods, seeking his 15th major championship and first since 2008, leads by one stroke on 7 under from playing partner Francesco Molinari and Spieth.

Tiger Woods is on the move in the British Open, edging to within a stroke of the lead on the front nine.

Woods birdied two of his first six holes to get to 7-under-par, a shot behind Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele. He was tied there with third round co-leader Kevin Kisner.

Woods, who is chasing his first major championship win in a decade, began the day four shots off the lead held by Schauffele, Spieth and Kisner. But while they were all over par on the front nine, he made birdie on No. 4 and then added another on the par-5 sixth.

Large crowds are following the 42-year-old Woods, who has yet to win in his latest comeback. He shot 66 in the third round to make a move up the leaderboard.

Kevin Kisner has dropped out of the lead at the British Open after a double bogey and a bogey in his first three holes.

Kisner, who has led or been tied for the lead after all three rounds, found a bunker off the tee at the par-4 second hole and made a 6. Then he missed a 4-footer for par at No. 3.

In fact, there are dropped shots everywhere in the final round at Carnoustie, where the wind is playing havoc.

Rory McIlroy has bogeyed two of his first five holes and is now 3 under, six shots off the lead, while Tommy Fleetwood bogeyed No. 5 to give up the stroke he picked up at the first before making double-bogey at No. 6.

Spieth and Schauffele have parred their first two holes.

Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele, the last pairing in the final round of the British Open, have teed off at Carnoustie where quite a stiff wind is blowing.

Tiger Woods has parred his first two holes and remains four shots back from Spieth, Schauffele and Kevin Kisner, who shared the third-round lead at 9-under.

Tommy Fleetwood also started his round at 5-under, like Woods, and birdied the first to a massive ovation.

Leaders are on the range at the British Open, where they will be greeted by warm breezes in the final round at Carnoustie.

Three players — including defending champion Jordan Spieth — are tied at the top of the leaderboard at 9-under par. Three other players are within three shots, while Tiger Woods is in a group of eight golfers at 5 under.

Ideal conditions in the third round led to a number of low scores, including a 64 by Justin Rose and 65s by Spieth and Francesco Molinari. But 69 was the low score among the first 22 players out in Sunday’s final round as the breeze was blowing 15-20 mph.

Woods, who shot 66 on Saturday, is paired with Molinari, two groups behind the final twosome of Spieth and Xander Schauffele.

The yellow grass of a dry summer in Scotland comes to life Sunday because of a red shirt at the British Open.

Tiger Woods is in contention for the claret jug again.

Jordan Spieth was tied for the lead at Carnoustie as he tries to become the first repeat winner in 10 years at the British Open. But even the appeal of Spieth was no match for seeing Woods, in his traditional red shirt, in the mix at a major.

Woods was four shots behind. It’s the closest he’s been to the lead in a major since five years ago at Muirfield.

A victory would complete a most remarkable comeback for Woods, who has had four back surgeries, a marital scandal and a DUI arrest since his last major.</s>CARNOUSTIE, Scotland – He had the lead alone on the 10th hole at Carnoustie Golf Links, and he appeared the calmest and most composed of all the contenders for the Claret Jug.

Tiger Woods appeared to truly be back. Truly and fully. Until he wasn’t. But, oh man, didn’t he shake the earth for a few fleeting moments? The “doable” of which he spoke on Saturday night – overcoming a four-stroke deficit – was getting done. He was leading the 147th Open Championship, and the world seemed to be spinning backwards.

“It was great, just to be a part of it and hear the roars, [and] Tiger being back in the mix,” Rory McIlroy volunteered, assessing a surreal Sunday along the coast of the North Sea. “For a while, I thought Tiger was going to win. My mindset was go and spoil the party here. It was cool.”

And Tiger Woods looked cool, too – in that calm, collected way he has exhibited so many times in a major championship. The little moral victories of his comeback season appeared to be the seedlings of a real one, a big one, a 15th major title more than 10 years after his last, the 2008 U.S. Open. There was not a hint of nerve in his swing nor a flinch in his putting stroke.

“Oh, yeah,” Woods said when he was asked if he felt those old vibes coming back. “It did. It did. It didn't feel any different. It didn't feel any different to be next to the lead and knowing what I need to do. I've done it so many different ways. It didn't feel any different. It felt great to be a part of the mix and build my way into the championship. Today was a day that I had a great opportunity.”

Instead, he took away another learning experience. Which is like winning a golf shirt for a door prize; useful, but hardly something for him to savor. Playing his final eight holes in 2 over par, Woods carded an even-par 71 on the windswept links and finished at 5-under 279, three strokes behind his playing partner, champion Francesco Molinari. His tie for sixth represents his best in a major since an identical finish in the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield.

Before the hiccups on the 11th and 12th holes, where wayward swings led to a double bogey and bogey, respectively, that extinguished his bid for a nearly unparalleled comeback in history, Woods seemed in command and on his way to an historic accomplishment.

No, he would not have eclipsed the remarkable tale of Ben Hogan, who won the Open Championship here at Carnoustie in 1953 in his only appearance as part of a miraculous comeback from a near-fatal auto accident. But after missing nearly two full years of competition, Woods had the chance for which he had so desperately been pining.

It was glorious while it lasted. It gave the crusty curmudgeon of a golf course a jolt and opened the eyes of both the swollen gallery and his fellow competitors.

Jordan Spieth, the defending champion and third-round co-leader, saw Woods’ name at the top of the board and said to his caddie Michael Greller, “this is what you dream about anyway.”

“Oh, it was a blast,” said Woods, who swung so ferociously out of a fairway bunker at the 10th that you swore you were seeing a highlight reel from a decade ago and not the 42-year-old man with the surgically repaired back. “I was saying earlier that I need to try and keep it in perspective because, the beginning of the year, if they'd have said you're playing the Open Championship, I would have said I'd be very lucky to do that.”

He mentioned his friend, tennis star Serena Williams, who finished runner-up recently at Wimbledon in her first grand slam appearance after giving birth to a daughter in September.

“I'm sure she'll probably call me and talk to me about it because you've got to put things in perspective,” Woods said. “She just had a baby and lost the Wimbledon finals. Just keep it in perspective, and the same thing with me. I know that it's going to sting for a little bit here, but given where I was to where I'm at now, blessed.”

Indeed, he has come a long way to have held his first lead in the final round of a major since the 2012 Masters. But his destination still seems off in the distance. Can he build his game ever closer to the player he once was, the impenetrable and impervious champion?

As well as he played and competed and grinded on Sunday, he still was outflanked by his playing partner, Molinari, who was simply impeccable in a final-round 69 that represented the only bogey-free round of the day.

He may have recognized those familiar feelings with a major on the line, but his mind and body didn’t follow his heart. He erred. And he knew it. “A little ticked off at myself for sure,” he admitted. “I had a chance starting that back nine to do something, and I didn't do it.”

And there is a reason for that.

McIlroy, one of four men who finished runner-up, provided a brutal assessment when quizzed about having to deal with the rejuvenated Woods.

“I mean, not Tiger that Phil and Ernie and those guys had to deal with. It's a different version,” McIlroy said. “But he's right there. He's right there. He's getting himself in the mix. He looked good in D.C. a couple weeks back. He's looked good here. [But] with the Tiger we have to face, he does things that maybe he didn't do 10, 15 years ago. But it's still great to have him back. It's still great for golf. It will be interesting to see going forward, but this was his first taste of major championship drama, I guess, for quite a while. Even though he's won 14, you have to learn how to get back. I'm relearning. I feel like I've won quite a few recently, but you still have to relearn to deal with it.”

RELATED: The roller coaster round of Tiger Woods, in the words of those who watched

Woods conceded as much. “I’m building on it. Just like this entire week, I felt like I needed to keep building my way into this championship,” he said. “And I will do that from here.”

There was a consolation prize of immense importance for him at the end. He shook the hand of the winner and then was greeted by his son and daughter, who had been far too young to remember their father thriving in that milieu, that cauldron of pressure that he so often before stared down, seeing through it, in fact, like he would through opponents. They embraced in a lasting hug, and Tiger Woods absorbed the warmth of accomplishment through their arms.

“I told them I tried,” Woods said with just the slightest betrayal of his iron facade, “and I said, ‘Hopefully you're proud of your pops for trying as hard as I did.’ It's pretty emotional because they gave me some pretty significant hugs there and squeezed. I know that they know how much this championship means to me and how much it feels good to be back playing again. To me, it's just so special to have them aware because I've won a lot of golf tournaments in my career, but they don't remember any of them.”

The thing is Woods remembers, and the task for him going forward is to reconcile that with the golfer he is now. On Sunday at Carnoustie he learned he is not the dominant force of yesteryear. But he is still viable contender. Somehow, he has to find a way to overcome using the tools still available to him.

This performance proved a lot. And still not enough.

Introducing Golf Digest All Access, a new way to improve</s>After Tiger Woods’ sixth-place finish at the British Open, a tournament he led for 38 thrilling minutes during Sunday’s final round, the think piece headlines were all the same. Tiger’s “major loss” will “lead to a major win,” said one publication. A major victory “doesn’t seem so improbable,” wrote another. A Slam suddenly “seems very possible,” said another, with slightly different verbiage.

The implications are the same: Entering Carnoustie this weekend, Tiger Woods didn’t have the stuff to win another major. But after 72 holes, four days and one sojourn atop the leaderboard, Tiger’s back – for real this time!

He may be, but it’s not because of anything we saw on the Scottish links. Tiger had already showed this year that his game was crisp and his back was healthy, during a four-week stretch in February and March when he finished 12th, 2nd and 5th at the Honda Classic, Valspar Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational, respectively.

The lasered irons and length off the tee were nothing we didn’t see at The Player’s (11th) or Quicken Loans National (4th).

What Tiger showed in March, and has continued to demonstrate since then, is that he has the game to compete in any tournament he plays, but also the inconsistency to throw in a stinker too. In other words, Tiger Woods is just a regular golfer, subject to the same capricious successes and failures as every other man on the PGA Tour.

Of course he can win a major. But as Francesco Molinari, Danny Willett, Jimmy Walker, Jason Dufner, Webb Simpson, Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke, Keegan Bradley, Lucas Glover, Stewart Cink, Yang Yong-eun and Trevor Immelman have shown in the last decade alone, so can almost any of the best 75 golfers in the world.

The days of Tiger playing 142 tournaments without missing a cut or playing on the weekend of 39-straight majors or winning seven tournaments every season or uninterrupted five-year runs at No. 1 or the questions about “Tiger vs. the field” — they’re gone.

There’s a new reality for Tiger Woods, one that’ll bring a different kind of pressure than in his heyday, but one that’ll be just as overwhelming.

It’s still “will Tiger win?” every time he tees it up. But this time the wins will be far less frequent and, more importantly, every failure to do so will bring a weekly reassessment of his future by the media.

In the past five months alone, the projected trajectory of Tiger’s career has fluctuated as much as Bitcoin. He contended at Bay Hill. “Tiger’s back!” He was middling at the Masters. “Tiger will be consigned to a lifetime of mid-morning tee times at the biggest events.” He shot a 65 on Saturday at The Players. “It’s only a matter of time.” He blew up at the U.S. Open. “Welp, it was fun while it lasted.” And now after the British, there’s an air of inevitability about Tiger Woods and major No. 15.

Nothing is inevitable in golf though, not even for Tiger Woods. Being a good (even great) golfer is no guarantee of major success. Just ask Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler and Colin Montgomerie, to name a few. I think Tiger will get his. I thought it after his injury in 2008, his scandal in 2010, his second prime in 2013, after the surgeries of 2015-16 and even when his career seemed done in 2017. But a sure thing?

Tiger Woods is 42. If we’re being generous with his health/longevity and say he can contend up until he’s 50 (remember, Jack won his last major at 46 and he’s still the oldest champion of the last 40 years), Tiger has 29 starts to win a major. (This is not factoring in his health or the fact that some major courses — mainly at the U.S. Open — no longer suit his game.)

So put that 29 number into perspective. It took Phil Mickelson 46 majors to win his first Slam. Tiger himself hasn’t won in his last 27 majors, a number of which came in 2012 and 2013 when he was the No. 1 player in the world. Rory McIlroy, who’s in his prime, hasn’t won in his last 14 starts. And then there’s Arnold Palmer, who didn’t win a major after turning 35. The only guarantee in golf is that you’ll lose far more often than you’ll win, something that was true even for Tiger in his heyday.

For Tiger, the stepping stone to reclaiming a major trophy isn’t in getting close to winning one, like at Carnoustie this weekend, but in actually holding it in the air. In his case, one major might lead to two and two might even lead to three. But Tiger Woods has to get that first one and he’s no closer today than he was before he hopped the Atlantic and made a memorable run at the British Open.</s>Carnoustie (Scotland), July 23 (IANS) Francesco Molinari became the first Italian to win a major golf title as he clinched a two-stroke victory at the 147th British Open here on Sunday.

The 35-year-old tallied eight-under 276 (70-72-65-69) over the four days to finish two strokes ahead of England’s Justin Rose (72-73-64-69), Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy (69-69-70-70) and Americans Kevin Kisner (66-70-68-74) and Xander Schauffele (71-66-67-74).

Englishman Eddie Pepperell, American legend Tiger Woods and Kevin Chappell finished tied sixth with an identical total of five-under 279 at the Carnoustie Golf Links.

Defending champion Spieth failed to make a birdie, with a penalty drop from a gorse bush on the sixth leading to a double bogey in a final round of 76.

Starting the final round three shots behind co-leaders Kisner, Schauffele and defending champion Jordan Spieth, Molinari plotted his way round with 13 consecutive pars to move into a share of the lead as the other leading contenders struggled to deal windy conditions, according to the European Tour’s website.

Initially it had looked as though Molinari’s playing partner Woods was on course for a 15th Major Championship a decade after landing his 14th.

The American birdied the fourth and sixth to hold the outright lead on seven under, but double bogeyed the 11th. He then got a bogey on the 12th to run out of contention.

By contrast, Molinari gained his first shot of the day at the par-five 14th and, just as crucially, holed clutch par putts on the 15th and 16th.

With Schauffele recovering from four dropped shots in three holes on the front nine with birdies at the tenth and 14th to join him on seven under, Molinari got a birdie.

Schauffele then found trouble on the 17th, getting a bogey before he made a par effort on the 18th to leave it for Molinari to win.

“I think it will take a long time for this to sink in. To go bogey-free at the weekend around a track like this, it’s very good,” the world number 15 was quoted as saying by European Tour’s website.

“I was as calm as you can be in the final round in the Open. I felt like I was ready for it.”</s>Jordan Spieth set the tone pulling driver on the 396-yard opening hole and sending it bouncing and rolling to 10 feet for eagle. Moments later, Tiger Woods sent the gallery into a frenzy with three straight birdies to get into contention at a major for the first time in five years.

On a day of calm conditions, low scores and endless cheers, the biggest buzz on Saturday was anticipating what the final round might bring.

“We’ve got pretty much a new tournament tomorrow,” Spieth said.

Spieth rode his eagle to a bogey-free round of 6-under 65, giving him a three-way tie for the lead with Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner, and giving him a chance to become the first player in 10 years to win back-to-back at the British Open.

Schauffele, the PGA Tour rookie of the year last season, holed a 30-foot putt from behind the 18th green for a 67.

Kisner made a tough par save on the 17th and saved par again from behind the 18th green for a 68.

They were at 9-under 204.

And for the first time, all of them get to experience a final round at a major with Woods in the hunt.

Woods started quietly enough with a few birdies through eight holes, not exceptional because Justin Rose already matched the course record at Carnoustie for the British Open with a 64. But Woods rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 9, followed with short birdie putts on the next two holes and with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 14th, he put his name atop the leaderboard.

It was there for only 20 minutes. But it was there.

A bogey on the 16th and a par save from short of the Barry Burn on the 18th gave him a 66, his lowest score in a major since the 2011 Masters, and left him only four shots behind going into the final round. Woods, winless in the majors since the 2008 U.S. Open, hasn’t been this close to the lead going into the final round at a major since he was two shots back at Muirfield five years ago.

“I’m right there,” he said. “I’ve got a chance at this, which is great.”

And he has company.

Kevin Chappell, who spent most of his round watching Spieth put on a show, birdied the 18th for a 67 and was two shots behind.

Francesco Molinari had a 66 and will play in the third-to-last group with Woods. They were last together three weeks ago when Woods presented him the trophy at the Quicken Loans National after Molinari shot 62 for an eight-shot victory.

Twelve players were separated by four shots, a group that includes Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Zach Johnson. They all dropped shots on a day when there was no time to be going backward. McIlroy was within two shots of the lead until bogeys on two of his last three holes for a 70 left him four behind.

Johnson, staying in the same house as Kisner, Spieth and four other Americans, hooked his approach on No. 12 and three-putted for a double bogey. He shot 72 and was in the group four behind. Joining them was Tommy Fleetwood, who dropped three shots in two holes on the back nine on his way to a 71.

Of the five players separated by three shots, only Spieth has experience winning a major.

Not since Woods in 2006 has the defending champion gone into the final round with at least a share of the lead. The biggest advantage he sees is to “expect the unexpected,” and the most windy conditions of the week might make it every bit of that.

The opening hole is 396 yards on the card, with the fairway getting narrow between two bunkers. Spieth, who spent Saturday morning watching the Open on television, asked caddie Michael Greller on the practice range, “Do we like driver?”

Greller told him no. Play short and it’s a wedge to a front pin, easy birdie chance.

Spieth walked to the tee with coach Cameron McCormick and asked him, “How about I just send it on No. 1?”

“I felt good about the range session. And he’s like, ‘I put my chips behind anything you decide, always.’ And that kind of gave me that little extra boost,” Spieth said.

He stuffed his approach to 2 feet on No. 4 and had a few more short birdie putts until he came to the par-3 16th, when his 5-iron settled 12 feet away for his longest putt of the day.

This is the 16th time he has been in at least a share of the lead in the majors in the five years he has been playing them on a regular basis.

Kisner had the 54-hole lead at the PGA Championship last year.

“I would imagine it’s going to be more of a grind all day,” he said of the final round. “I don’t foresee guys going out and making four or five birdies in the first eight or nine holes. But who knows? They’re damn good players.”</s>Professional golfer Francesco Molinari won his first major championship Sunday, defeating an array of the sport's top stars at the British Open in Carnoustie, Scotland.

The 35-year-old Molinari became the first Italian to capture one of golf's four major annual titles, shooting a final round 2-under-par 69. He completed a bogey-free round with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and then waited to claim the tournament's Claret Jug trophy as other contenders faltered at the end.

For the tournament, Molinari was 8 under par, two better than a quartet of golfers, Britain's Justin Rose, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and two Americans, Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner.

The tourney marked the return to prominence for Tiger Woods, the U.S. golfer who has won 14 major championships but none since 2008. With a pair of birdies and eight pars through the first 10 holes Sunday, Woods surged into the lead, but promptly relinquished it with a double bogey on the 11th and a bogey on the 12th.

Woods completed the tourney in sixth place, three shots back of Molinari, his playing partner. It was Woods' best showing in a major championship since his fourth-place finish at the 2013 Masters in the United States.</s>CARNOUSTIE, Scotland, (Reuters) – Francesco Molinari kept the coolest head in Carnoustie as he steered a steady course through a wild afternoon of nailbiting tension at the British Open yesterday to become the first Italian major champion.

With a strong breeze causing mayhem at the top of the leaderboard which a charging Tiger Woods had topped with nine holes to play, the 35-year-old Molinari buckled down to produce a flawless 69 and claim victory by two strokes.

Overnight leaders Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner ended two shots back in four-way tie for second place with England’s Justin Rose and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy.

Molinari ended a compelling four-day drama on eight-under 276 — the lowest combined score in the eight Carnoustie Opens.

Huge crowds descended on the seaside links and the majority were willing Woods to claim a fairytale 15th major a decade after his last one. But it was the American’s playing partner Molinari who wrote his own script to claim his major breakthrough at the 36th time of asking.

With defending champion Jordan Spieth, Woods, English duo Rose and Tommy Fleetwood and McIlroy in the mix yesterday, the Molinari sub-plot was almost overlooked as the leading groups went out.

Yet his recent form, two wins and two runners-up finishes in his last five tournaments, should have served as a warning on a day when a steady hand was needed on the tiller.

While Spieth, Schauffele and Kisner endured a rollercoaster ride across the sun-blasted links, as if spooked by the presence of a resurgent Woods, Molinari cranked out 13 consecutive pars before making his move.

He rolled in a birdie on the par-five 14th to move into the lead on seven-under.

With Rose and McIlroy in the clubhouse on six-under, Schauffele fought back from a 40-stroke outward nine to get to seven-under but Molinari was unflappable.

Carnoustie’s 18th hole has witnessed its fair share of horror shows but Molinari safely negotiated the snaking Barry Burn with his tee shot before planting his second to six feet.

Molinari was a picture of calm as he walked up to his putt and only after it disappeared into the cup did he allow his mask to slip — turning to punch the air.
Francesco Molinari wins the British Open at Carnoustie for his first major title by two strokes over a group including past major winners Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose. Tiger Woods, Molinari's playing partner for the final round, finishes one shot further back in a tie for sixth.