Francesco Molinari wins The Open at Carnoustie

Francesco Molinari clinched his maiden major title and continued his remarkable run on Tour with victory at The Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Molinari, 35, becomes the first Italian to win The Open and he has now won three of his last six tournaments on Tour. 

The red-hot Italian was playing alongside Tiger Woods in the final round and carded a superb bogey-free 69 to reach 8-under par and seal a two-stroke win over England's Justin Rose, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and America's Xander Schauffele and Kevin Kisner.

Woods hit the front with nine holes to play but stumbled with a double bogey at 11 and bogey at 12 en route to a tie for sixth.

"It's going to take a long time to sink in but it's been a great week," said Molinari, who found himself a level par after 36 holes.

"To go bogey-free all weekend is incredible. Obviously playing with Tiger made it even more special. I couldn't have written it any better."

Molinari won the European Tour's flagship event of the year at Wentworth in May and then finished second at the Italian Open in his next tournament.

He then finished tied 25th in the US Open before going on to win the Quicken Loans National before a tie for second at the John Deere Classic prior to heading to Carnoustie. 

"It's been a long journey. Obviously you see the end result but it's been a long journey and I've had a lot of help from my team. The last few weeks has just been confidence. Winning at Wentworth and then winning in the States, and now here we are."