Xander Schauffele won his second major in three months in the 152nd Open at Royal Troon to complete an American clean sweep of the game's biggest titles.
Schauffele carded a flawless closing 65 to finish nine under par, two shots clear of overnight leader Billy Horschel and Justin Rose, who had threatened to become the first English winner of the Claret Jug since 1992.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, who held the lead after 11 holes of the final round, finished a shot further back in fourth following a 68.
Offaly's Shane Lowry redeemed himself after a difficult day three on Saturday and fired a fine final round of 68 to end his week on four-under-par overall, good enough to finish solo sixth.
Schauffele, who registered a major record of 21 under par to win the US PGA at Valhalla in May, is the first player to win two majors in a year since Brooks Koepka in 2018.
The world number three is also the seventh American winner in the last eight Opens at Royal Troon – Sweden’s Henrik Stenson having denied Phil Mickelson in a thrilling duel in 2016 – and will head to Paris to defend his Olympic title in brilliant form.
Schauffele, who has now finished no worse than 18th in his last 10 starts, was eighth in the Masters and seventh in the US Open either side of his US PGA triumph, where he birdied the 72nd hole to edge out Bryson DeChambeau by a shot.
"It's an honour," said Schauffele afterwards. "I've always dreamt of doing it. That walk up 18 truly is the coolest with the yellow leaderboards and the fans and the standing ovation.
"It really is one of the coolest feelings I've ever had in my life. I got chills walking down and quickly had to zap myself back into focus because the tournament wasn't over yet.
"I think winning the first one helped me a lot today on the back nine. I had some feeling of calmness come through.
"It was very helpful on what has been one of the hardest back nines I've ever played in a tournament. I mean, it's a dream come true to win two majors in one year. It took me forever just to win one, and to have two now is something else."
Rose was bidding to become the first qualifier to lift the Claret Jug since Paul Lawrie in 1999, while the 4,053-day gap since his 2013 US Open victory at Merion would have set a new record.
The prospects looked good when Rose birdied the second and fourth to overhaul Horschel and again when he birdied the eighth, only for a bogey on the 12th to halt his momentum at just the wrong time.
Playing alongside Horschel, Lawrence was reaping the rewards for an aggressive approach as birdies on the third, fourth, seventh and ninth gave him the lead before Schauffele, who had covered the front nine in 34, produced a decisive burst.
A stunning approach to the 11th left Schauffele with a tap-in for the only birdie all day on the daunting par four, another on the 13th took him into a share of the lead and Lawrence’s bogey on the 12th handed Schauffele an advantage he would never relinquish.
Further birdies on the 14th and 16th gave Schauffele the luxury of a three-shot lead and he completed a nerveless display with pars on the final two holes before Rose birdied the 18th to round off a superb 67.
Horschel birdied the 16th, 17th and 18th to join Rose in second, with Lawrence another shot back after saving par on the last despite hitting his second shot into the face of a bunker and watching it fly back over his head onto the fairway.
Jon Rahm, Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler all finished on one-under-par.
Masters champion and world number one Scheffler had been within two of the lead until amazingly four-putting the ninth for a double bogey.
Of the remaining Irish in the field, Pádraig Harrington shot 72 to end up on +4 overall, tied 22nd. Tom McKibbin and Darren Clarke played their final rounds together, with McKibbin shooting 74 for +12 overall and 2011 winner Clarke carding a 75 to finish on +15.
FINAL LEADERBOARD
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