the penalty, he told reporters: "There are many stupid rules in golf and this is one of them." The two-shot penalty ultimately cost him dearly, as he lost the tournament by a single shot. In March, McIlroy lost in a four-man sudden-death playoff at the Honda Classic on the PGA Tour, despite leading the tournament through all four rounds until the back nine on Sunday. He shot a final-round 74 (+4) and had a superb second shot to the par-five 18th in regulation play to qualify for the playoff, after missing the eagle putt for the win. He lost on the first extra hole, when Russell Henley was the only one of the four to birdie the hole. In May in England, McIlroy won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth by one stroke. He carded a six-under-par 66 final round to beat Thomas Bjørn, who started the day seven strokes clear of McIlroy. The win was McIlroy's first on either of the two major tours in 18 months. Open Championship win On 20 July, McIlroy won the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool by two strokes over Rickie Fowler and Sergio García. The victory was the third major championship of his career, having led the field after each round of the tournament. McIlroy and Tiger Woods are the only golfers to win both The Silver Medal and The Gold Medal at The Open Championship. His third major title having won the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship, McIlroy became the third European to win three different majors and joined Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as one of three golfers since the first Masters Tournament in 1934 to win three majors by the age of 25. PGA Championship win A week after winning his first-ever WGC event at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, McIlroy would edge runner-up Phil Mickelson by one shot to collect his fourth major championship victory with a win at the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Kentucky. After McIlroy's victory at his own Nicklaus-designed Valhalla Golf Club, golfing great Jack Nicklaus said of McIlroy: "Rory is an unbelievable talent. I think Rory has an opportunity to win 15 or 20 majors or whatever he wants to do if he wants to keep playing. I love his swing." 2015 McIlroy's second tournament of the year yielded victory as he won the European Tour's Omega Dubai Desert Classic for