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Brooks Koepka has pocketed a stunning $US4.75 million ($A6.87 million) payday for his victory at the World Golf Championships Invitational in Tennessee.

The world No.1 is now in prime position for another huge bonus next month having cemented his position atop the US PGA Tour's season-long FedEx Cup standings, courtesy of his three-shot win at TPC Southwind in Memphis.

If the big-hitting Koepka can hold on to his FedEx Cup lead through the season-ending Tour Championship in August, he will net a $US15 million bonus prize.

"It's incredible but the year is not done; there are a few more things to finish off and hopefully they can go my way," a determined Koepka said after beating a WGC field featuring 45 of the world's top 50.

Ousting overnight leader Rory McIlroy, Koepka fired a five-under-par 65 to finish at 16 under.

Former US Open champion Webb Simpson (64) was runner up at 13 under, while Australia's Marc Leishman (67) was a stroke further behind in third.

Koepka earned a maiden WGC title and second US PGA Tour victory this year, having won the US PGA Championship in May - his fourth major.

In addition to the $US1.75 million winner's prize for the WGC, Koepka locked up a $US2 million bonus for taking an unassailable lead in the PGA Tour's regular season points race.

He also pocketed $US1 million by winning the tour's Aon Risk Reward Challenge - a season-long competition based on a player's average score across a designated hole at each tournament.

"It's nice; I'm sure I can find a way to spend it," Koepka joked in his winning press conference.

"It's incredible what I have done this year. The overall consistency, I have taken my game to a new level."

Koepka adds a maiden WGC title to a trophy cabinet featuring two US Opens and two US PGA Championships, all of which he has won during the past three years.

"Any time you can win a world golf championship is special," the 29-year-old Koepka said.

"The goals are to win as many times as you can in a year, turn up for the big events and make sure you're in contention."

While Koepka cemented his place atop golf's world rankings, four-time major winner McIlroy was left to rue a Sunday collapse.

The Northern Irishman, playing in the final group with Koepka, was the only golfer in the top 10 on the leaderboard to not break par - shooting a 71 to drop to 11 under and a share of fourth.

After Leishman, Cameron Smith was next best of the Australians at six under, having posted a 68 to earn a creditable tie for 12th place.

Adam Scott signed off in style with a 67 to save a one-under total, which countryman Jason Day also signed for courtesy of a closing 70.

Ko Jin-young has won the Evian Championship by two strokes, cementing her reputation as a player for big occasions with her second major victory of the year.

The South Korean seized control with a 15-foot birdie at the penultimate hole, where she perfectly read a sharply-breaking putt at the Evian Resort in Evian-les-Bains on Sunday.

She parred the last, before letting out a big smile, raising her arms in celebration and hurling her ball into the gallery.

Ko finished at 15-under 269, less than four months after claiming her maiden major title at the ANA Inspiration in the California desert.

There are five official majors in women's golf.

Ko came from four strokes behind the overnight leader, fellow Korean Kim Hyo-joo, whose hopes disappeared with a triple-bogey at the par-three 14th, where her ball plugged in a greenside bunker.

"Last night I thought if I play a really good (final round) I can win," Ko said before being presented with the trophy by American skier Lindsey Vonn.

Kim (73), China's Shanshan Feng (68) and American Jennifer Kupcho (66) tied for second on 13-under.

With her fifth LPGA Tour victory in less than two years, Ko, 24, is projected to reclaim her world No.1 ranking.

There is no secret to Ko's success other than a flawless swing and a consistency others can only dream of.

Apart from her three LPGA wins this year, Ko has also finished runner-up three times, and has never been outside the top 30.

Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park (75) was let down by her putting in falling to a tie for sixth at 10-under.

The best Australians were PGA champion Hannah Green and Katherine Kirk, who both finished one-under in equal 30th.

Fellow Australian Susan Oh finished one-over, while Sarah Kemp ended up seven-over.

Sunday's round was delayed by heavy rain, and the final group did not finish until after 7.30pm local time.

The final group crawled around the back nine in two hours and 47 minutes, but at least they finished, saving the tournament from spilling into Monday.

The Evian was the first of back-to-back majors, ahead of the Women's British Open that will start at Woburn on Thursday.

Jim Herman has ridden President Donald Trump's putting advice to victory in the US PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship.

Taking advantage of playing partner Kelly Kraft's two late bogeys, Herman finished with a two-under 70 for a one-stroke victory at 26-under 262 in Nicholasville, Kentucky.

A shot ahead with three to play, Kraft bogeyed the par-3 16th and par-4 17th in a closing 70.

Trump's regular golf partner while working as an assistant professional at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Herman changed to a conventional putting grip and clubhead at the president's suggestion following a recent round.

The putter cooled off a bit on Sunday after Herman opened with rounds of 65, 65 and 62, but he did just enough to edge Kraft - who shot 61 on Saturday - for his second PGA Tour title.

Encouraged by Trump to pursue a playing career, the 41-year-old Herman won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his maiden tour title - a victory that also followed a friendly round with Trump.

"I think I need to see him again soon," Herman said on the 18th green after a winning tap-in par. "He motivates me and puts me in a good spot."

Sepp Straka was third at 23-under after a 66.

Australia's Matt Jones finished fast with a 63 to tie for fourth with Austin Cook (70) at 22 under.

Cameron Smith has given his Presidents Cup and FedEx Cup playoff prospects a significant boost with his best finish at a British Open.

In the most brutal conditions of the tournament, a final-round five-over-par 76 was enough to secure Smith a share of 20th place at Royal Portrush.

Despite a torrid closing stretch in which he leaked three shots in the last four holes, Smith finished in red numbers at one under for the championship.

"It would have been nice to hole a few more putts throughout the week and be right up there, but it is what it is," he said.

"This was probably my favourite major to watch growing up, not knowing how brutal it could be over here.

"Any tournament, regardless of what it is, to show up and be in the third-last group (in round three) and then give it a pretty good crack there, it's just all learning."

The lone Australian to make the cut, Smith had been hoping to make a Sunday charge.

Instead it quickly became a fight for survival as buffeting wind and rain lashing the coastal links course in Northern Ireland made pars gold.

Continuing the theme of his week, apart from a sizzling second-round 66, every time Smith drained a birdie putt he would give the shot back at the next hole - doing so at the sixth and again at the 11th.

Further dropped shots at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes had the 25-year-old battling to keep it together.

But a par at the last was enough for his first top-20 result at The Open.

"It was just brutal. That was all it was," Smith said.

"It seemed like you couldn't control your ball no matter how good a strike you had or how good you thought your read was...

"Sometimes you've just got to hang in there, even though it's going the wrong way.

"I actually made a few good bogeys coming in."

After missing the cut on debut at Birkdale in 2017 and finishing 78th at Carnoustie last year, Smith's impressive Portrush performance put him back on track for a maiden Presidents Cup appearance.

Five weeks out from the eight automatic spots being decided, Smith is projected to rise from 10th to eighth in the Cup standings.

He now has his Cup destiny in his own hands, instead of needing one of four captain's picks from International team skipper Ernie Els to punch his ticket to Royal Melbourne from September 9-15.

"That's been my goal since the start of the year, to get on that team," Smith said.

"Obviously I had a good run when they started taking the rankings and then fell off through the middle there.

"But I feel as though my game is coming around."

Smith shared 20th with former Open champions Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson and England's former world No.1 Justin Rose.

A year after missing the halfway cut for the fourth straight time and then losing his US PGA Tour card, Irishman Shane Lowry can barely believe he's the new British Open champion.

Lowry fought back tears and paid a heartfelt tribute to his family after turning The Open into a Sunday procession and sending fans into a frenzy with an emotion-charged six-stroke victory at Royal Portrush.

"I didn't even know going out this morning if I was good enough to win a major," Lowry said after closing with a one-over-par 72 in miserable conditions to finish at 15 under for the championship, comfortably clear of English runner-up Tommy Fleetwood (74).

"I knew I was able to put a few days together. I knew I was able to play the golf course. I just went out there and tried to give my best and, look, I'm here now, a major champion.

"I can't believe I'm saying it. It's not going to sink in for a couple of days."

Lowry's stirring breakthrough comes almost a year to the day since he sacked his caddie after the first round of last year's Open at Carnoustie.

"That just shows how fickle golf is. Golf is a weird sport and you never know what's around the corner," the 32-year-old said.

"That's why you need to remind yourself, and you need other people there to remind you. You need to fight through the bad times.

"I sat in the car park in Carnoustie ... and I cried. Golf wasn't my friend at the time. It was something that become very stressful and it was weighing on me and I just didn't like doing it.

"Look what a difference a year makes."

In the first Open staged in Northern Ireland since 1951, Lowry joins Padraig Harrington (2007 and 2008) as only the second man from south of the border to claim the Claret Jug, or win any of golf's four majors.

He also follows in the famous footsteps of fellow Irishmen Fred Daly (1947), Darren Clarke (2011) and Rory McIlroy (2012 and 2014), all from the north, to win The Open.

"My mum and dad, they sacrificed for me when I was younger and I'm so happy I can hand them this trophy tonight," Lowry said as he cradled golf's most coveted trophy.

"It was just incredible to walk down 18. The crowd is going wild, singing. I just couldn't believe it was happening to me.

"And it was nice, very nice of Paddy and G-Mac to be standing on the back of the tee for me.

"I tried to soak it in as much as I could. It was hard to soak it in because it's very surreal."

In converting his overnight four-shot buffer into a day-long celebration for jubilant home fans, Lowry also exorcised the demons of Oakmont in 2016, when he squandered a same-sized third-round lead to all but hand the US Open trophy to Dustin Johnson.

But he said it wasn't as easy as it looked after a sleepless night tossing and turning night "thinking about all sorts".

Three shots were as close as Fleetwood, or anyone, came to reeling Lowry in, with Tony Finau (71) finishing third two strokes behind Fleetwood at seven under.

Fellow American and world No.1 Brooks Koepka (74) shared fourth at six under with Englishman Lee Westwood (73).

Cameron Smith, the only Australian to make the halfway cut, finished tied 20th at one under after closing with a 76.

LEADING SCORES FROM THE BRITISH OPEN

269: Shane Lowry (IRE) 67-67-63-72

275: Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 68-67-66-74

277: Tony Finau (USA) 68-70-68-71

278: Brooks Koepka (USA) 68-69-67-74, Lee Westwood (ENG) 68-67-70-73

OTHERS

283: Cameron Smith (AUS) 70-66-71-76

Australian Minjee Lee's potent partnership with world No.2 Jin Young Ko produced an LPGA Tour runner-up finish as they rattled home on the final day of the Great Lakes Bay Invitational in Michigan.

World No.4 Lee and her South Korean partner produced 12 birdies in a 12-under-par 58 in the closing-round four-ball format at Midland Country Club.

However, the two big guns were outshone by Thailand's Jasmine Suwannapura and American Cydney Clanton who won the two-woman teams event by six strokes at 27-under 253.

The winners combined for a closing 11-under-par 59.

It is a second LPGA Tour victory for Suwannapura, and a first for Clanton, who had never finished better than seventh in an LPGA event.

Lee and Ko finished one shot ahead of third-placed Thai stars Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn, who closed with a 61.

It was the third runner-up result of the year for Lee, who won the LA Open in April, and it took her past $US1 million in prize money this season.

She sits fourth on the season money list and third in the season points race behind leader Ko.

Lee admitted it had taken their pairing a bit too long to settle into the teams event, which used a format of two rounds of alternate-shot foursomes and two of four ball.

"We both played better than we did the last time we played four balls," Lee said.

"We just had a better rhythm out there. I think we just fed off each other.

"Jin Young had so many birdies today, so I just tried to keep up pretty much."

MOST TOP 10 FINISHES AT GOLF'S PAST 40 MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS SINCE 2010

18: Rory McIlroy (NIR)

16: Dustin Johnson (USA)

15: Jason Day (AUS), Adam Scott (AUS)

OVERALL RECORDS AT MAJORS SINCE 2010

Rory McIlroy: 39 majors, 4 wins (2011 US Open, 2014 British Open, 2012, 2014, US PGA), 7 top 3s, 11 top 5s, 18 top 10s, 9 missed cuts. 95 weeks as world No.1.

Dustin Johnson: 37 majors, 1 win (2016 US Open), 6 top 3s, 9 top 5s, 16 top 10s, 6 missed cuts. 91 weeks world No.1.

Jason Day: 37 majors, 1 win (2015 US PGA), 6 top 3s, 9 top 5s, 15 top 10s, 5 missed cuts. 51 weeks as world No.1.

Adam Scott: 40 majors, 1 win (2013 Masters), 5 top 3s, 8 top 5s, 15 top 10s, 6 missed cuts. 11 weeks as world No.1.

An emotional Rory McIlroy fought back the tears after narrowly missing the halfway cut at the British Open despite his brave fightback with a gutsy second-round charge at Royal Portrush.

A day after he imploded with a 79 that began with his first tee shot going out of bounds, Northern Irish hero McIlroy delivered the performance that local fans were expecting.

The 30-year-old shot a superb five-under 66 to move back to two over for the tournament, but he ended agonisingly one shot outside the projected cut line of one over.

The former world No.1 hit three straight birdies after the turn but a bogey on the par-three 13th disrupted his momentum.

A birdie on the 16th offered a glimmer of hope but he failed to get back the stroke he needed, wasting an excellent fairway position on the 18th as he missed the green to the left, leaving himself too much to do.

McIlroy needed time to compose himself as he completed his post-round media duties.

"As much as I came here at the start of the week saying I wanted to do it for me, you know, by the end of the round there today I was doing it just as much for them as I was for me," he said.

"I wanted to be here for the weekend. Selfishly I wanted to feel that support for two more days, but today was probably one of the most fun rounds of golf I've ever played.

"I don't get back home as often as I used to (and) it's hard to feel that support from your home people, I guess, but to have that many people out there following me, supporting me, cheering my name, it meant the world to me."

McIlroy is young enough to have one more good chance to win the tournament on home soil, with the R&A expected to bring the event back to Portrush in the next decade or so.

"I wasn't coming here to try and produce any sort of symbolism or anything like that, but to see everyone out there sort of cheering for the same thing was pretty special," he said.

"I wish the ending for me would have been written a little bit differently but it's been an awesome experience and I can't wait to come back here in a few years and play another Open.

"I'm so proud of everyone involved in this tournament, bringing it to Northern Ireland."

South African Dylan Frittelli took the final ticket into the British Open field when he won the US PGA Tour's John Deere Classic by two strokes in Silvis, Illinois.

Frittelli clinched his first US tour victory in style with a seven-birdie, seven-under-par 64 at TPC Deere Run, after starting the day two strokes off the pace.

He finished at 21-under 263, while American Russell Henley shot a sizzling 61 to vault into second place.

A two-time winner on the European Tour, Frittelli, 29, quickly set his sights on the British Open that starts at Royal Portrush on Thursday after earning his spot in the field.

"I'll hopefully jump on that (charter) flight tonight and head over to the Open," he told CBS television.

"Hopefully I can be calm by the time I get there but I'm sure it's going to be a fun flight."

Youngster Cameron Davis was the leading Australian but well back in a tie for 58th at eight under after a closing 70.

Brooks Koepka has shown he is fallible after all with four straight bogeys to start the final round costing the American any chance of winning the British Open.

Koepka has rightly earned a reputation as a machine in the majors over the past two years, winning back-to-back US Opens and PGA Championships and becoming, unarguably, the world No.1 in the process.

Victory at Royal Portrush on Sunday would have capped off one of the great major seasons, after he finished equal second (Masters), first (PGA Championship) and second (US Open).

But after struggling to hole putts over the first three rounds, he needed something of a minor miracle, starting the day seven shots adrift of overnight leader Shane Lowry, who went on to record an outstanding triumph.

"I probably hit four of the worst shots I've hit all week," Koepka said of his bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey start.

He battled on gamely, eagling the par-four fifth and shooting a most respectable three-over-par 74 in the difficult conditions.

"Played good this week, so obviously disappointing, not the finish I was looking for," said Koepka, who finished joint-fourth at six-under 278, nine strokes behind runaway winner Lowry.

"It becomes, I guess, a battle to try and figure it out and try to improve on it next year. It was a great run for three (majors) and then this one, nothing you could do.

"Props to Shane, he played unbelievable golf. How cool is that to win in Ireland?"

As much as Koepka wanted to lift the Claret Jug, once it became obvious that it was not going to happen he re-set his sights on runner-up, but it was not to be.

"I would have liked to have just made a few more (birdies) and finished it off with a bunch of second places," he said.

If Koepka was disappointed, his playing companion JB Holmes must have been positively mortified.

Holmes teed off in third place, six strokes behind Lowry, yet it was to prove anything but elementary for the man from Kentucky.

He shot 87, the worst score of the day by seven strokes.

His card revealed one birdie, six bogeys, four doubles and one triple.

Had Koepka, or Holmes for that matter, won the tournament, it would have been the first time since 1982 that Americans had swept the majors.