Runaway champions in the major game don’t happen all that often. 15 shots happened in the 2000 US Open, and 8 shots happened three times since, but none after 2014. The owners of those wins were towering figures in the game of golf, at least at the time. Woods, McIlroy, and Kaymer were formidable golfers, and each one’s reputation suggested a sense of intimidation. In 2019, Shane Lowry won by six at Royal Portrush, and he almost fit the mold of the Woods and McIlroys of the golf world.
Brian Harman does not cut a physically-towering figure, nor is his reputation for tour wins one for the record books. The golfer of average height and girth carried a pair of PGA Tour wins into this week’s Open Championship, and neither was more recent than 2017. Harman had led major events with 18 holes to play, but a) it wasn’t yet his time; or b) he didn’t know how to win; or c) both of the above.
How did the Savannah, Georgia native find the way home to victory at Royal Liverpool? How did he seize the lead after 36 holes, then fend off the old, the young, and the in-between, and claim stewardship of the Claret Jug for the entirety of the next year? The answer might be found in a few of his answers to post-round questions on Sunday.
“I haven’t historically done very good in the rain. It’s just always bugged me. I was really proud of the way that I struck the ball in the rain today.”
Imagine for a moment, that you arrive at the golf course, on the biggest day of your golfing life. You gritted out a minus-two round on Saturday, playing in the pressure of the last group. Your reward is another day in the final game of the sport’s grandest stage. And you find that the gentle zephyrs have increased in strength, and the sunny skies have turned gray and moist. And you’re not the game’s best rain player.
“I’ve got a lot of layers, man. I’m like an onion.”
We all know that Brian Harman is a great putter. He’s so good, his distance putts hit the hole dead center, full steam ahead. When he’s dialed in, the only requirement is: find the green in regulation. He also putts pretty well from close in, Through the first 54 holes, Harman was a perfect 44-for-44 on putts ten feet and under. Think about that for a moment. Think about giving yourself the same, ten-feet putt 44 consecutive times, and ask yourself, how many would I make? Well, Harman hits a lot of fairways, and he hits a lot of greens. He’s also pretty handy with a wedge around the green. Like Shrek, Harmans have layers.
“My family is up at a lake house in upstate New York, so I’m going to get there tomorrow evening and I’ll spend three days with them, and we’ll do some fishing and I’ll get to spend some good family time.”
Win, lose, or draw, Harman was headed to Skaneateles to hang with the fam. What’s that? Oh, it’s pronounced skay-knee-AT-uh-luhs. It’s sort of near Syracuse, along the ring finger of the five Finger Lakes. There are absolutely zero flights from England to Syracuse, at least of the direct sort. My guess is that Harman knows a guy who knows a guy, and he’ll get there on a much smaller, fancier plane.
“It’s been hard to deal with. I think someone mentioned that I’ve had more top 10s than anyone since 2017, so that’s a lot of times where you get done, you’re like, dammit, man, I had that one; it just didn’t happen for whatever reason.”
Padraig Harrington, after his Friday round, commented that Harman had the perfect chip on his shoulder. Not too cumbersome, but hefty enough to motivate him. More people than his wife think that Harman is good looking, but he doesn’t have movie-star bones structure, and a quick hat removal reveals a balding head. And then there’s that height thing. Harrington continued that Harman doesn’t fit the mold, and so he doesn’t get the respect and recognition that he’s due. That’s about to change. He had this one, and it did happen, for a lot of reasons.
“After I made the second bogey yesterday, a guy, when I was passing him, he said, Harman, you don’t have the stones for this. That helped.”
As if Harman needed any more motivation. It’s like a scene out of Happy Gilmore, with a paid heckler working opposite the intent. Harman had slow starts on both weekend days, but his deep, internal resolve allowed him to turn the negative into a positive, and break away from the downward spiral. Golfers like Rahm, Kim, McIlroy and others gave chase on both days, but Harman never even cracked the door, much less opened it.
“Yeah, I look forward to coming back for a really long time. … the first time I came I played in 2014. I just didn’t know what to expect … But I came here and I was like, wow, man, this is unbelievable. The fans are incredible. Everyone understands golf over here. It was just a delight to play. Man, I’m stoked. Stoked to come back here.”
Like another fellow from Georgia, I suspect that they’ll welcome him back for a really long time. No matter what they knew or didn’t know, thought or didn’t think, about Brian Harman before this week, this weekend, this day, he now belongs to them. He is their Champion Golf of the Year 2023.
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