Rory McIlroy made the most of his PGA Championship debut, closing with a two-under par 70 on Sunday to finish his first full season of major championships with a bang.

The 20-year-old from Northern Ireland tied for third with England's Lee Westwood, just five shots back of surprise winner Yang Yong-Eun.

McIlroy also posted a 10th-place finish at this year's US Open. He tied for 20th at The Masters and shared 47th at the British Open.

"For the last major of the year I feel like I have put in a real strong finish," said McIlroy, who won $435 000.

McIlroy did not do so well in his prior outing, finishing in a tie for 68th at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational so the strong performance this week is almost as good as a victory.

"I would have taken this at the start of the week," he said. "This is my first year in the majors, all four of them. My results have been pretty good."

McIlroy, who is going to reward himself with a two-week break, said he can't wait to come back to the PGA Championship next year.

"I finished 20th at the Masters. I was disappointed at the British but the other two have been really good," he said.

"I am looking to build on these results next year and try to do a bit better."

McIlroy registered his maiden European Tour win earlier this year at the Dubai Desert Classic. The sky is the limit for McIlroy as long as he works hard and continues to show steady improvement.

The Dubai win taught him something but he also values the lessons learned in the season's final major at Hazeltine.

"I have been very patient," he said. "I didn't get flustered. I have a lot of momentum going into the majors next year.

"I learned a few things on my way. That should help me to build on and hopefully get me a couple of better finishes than just top-10 or top-five."

McIlroy stumbled out of the gate Sunday with a double bogey six on the opening hole. It woke him up as three consecutive birdies that followed set the tone for the rest of the round.

"I knew I had chances on the front nine to get it back," he said. "I had four birdies after that on the front to make the turn at two-under and the back nine was very tough.

"To shoot level par on the back nine with this wind I felt was a really good effort."

McIlroy finished with 17 birdies over the four rounds, compared to just five at Bridgestone.

"I like the greens out here this week. I felt I could do well on this course," he said. "It is a big long golf course which suits me."

Westwood, who also closed with a 70, also shared third at this year's British Open and feels he could be on the cusp of a major breakthrough.

"I have come back from what could have been a slight disappointment at the Open, not winning there," Westwood said. "It is just forward progress all the time and I can't wait for next April."