This is turning out to be the year that being in contention at major championship doesn't really matter. Golfers on the PGA Tour have found themselves contending for second, because the leaders at 2014's majors have taken leads and run with them like they stole them. 

Rory McIlroy followed in Bubba Watson (The Masters) and Martin Kaymer's (U.S. Open) footsteps on Sunday, taking a 6-shot lead into the final day and closing it out with a 2-shot victory over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. 

Even after conceding four strokes to his chasers, it never really felt like McIlroy was in danger of losing this major. He topped the leader board after the first round and never vacated it. Now that's how you assert your dominance at a major championship. 

Just Do It

Quite a bit has been made over the last two years about McIlroy's switch to Nike golf equipment and how it may have affected him dramatically in 2013. That fault in his game has clearly been corrected, as every slot in his bag was filled with a Nike club. 

Happy Father's Day

If you had the foresight of Rory McIlroy's father, you'd be making a lot of money off McIlroy's win at the British Open - $171,000 to be exact.  Not a bad pay out for having a ton of faith in your kid and taking advantage of a 500-1 odds bet by British betting firm Ladbrokes. In 2004, Gerry McIlroy dropped 200 pounds ($341, US) on a wager that Rory would win the British Open within 10 years. 

I'd say he's got his Father's Day presents covered for awhile. 

Fowl Play

Rickie Fowler's work with Butch Harmon is clearly starting to pay dividends for the 25-year-old. At the British Open he played all four rounds in the 60s and his -15 total would usually be good enough for a win. However, coming up just a bit short in majors has been his MO in 2014. 

Fowler was tied for second at the U.S. Open and finished fifth at The Masters. You could easily say that if it weren't for two golfers getting extremely hot and playing out of their minds in the last two majors, Fowler could have two major wins on his resume. But, that's just hindsight being 20/20. 

What we do know is that his game is heading in a really promising direction and the trajectory may be getting higher than we ever expected.