Francesco Molinari holds off British Open competition to become first Italian to win major

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland - Francesco Molinari was the "other" guy, a check-your-program placeholder, somebody to watch Sunday when the wall-to-wall spectators blocked a clear vantage of the superstar in his pairing, Tiger Woods.

Not many people imagined it would be the unassuming Molinari who would quietly assemble another brilliant round - no bogeys all weekend - to claim the British Open for his own.

Molinari shot a two-under-par 69 to finish at eight under for the tournament, becoming the first Italian to win a major championship.