American Brian Harman wins first major at The Open

HOYLAKE, England — After American Brian Harman hit his opening tee shot of the ultimate spherical of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Membership on Sunday, somebody within the grandstands shouted, “Hit it within the bunkers!”

When Harman, who got here into the spherical with a 5-stroke lead, pushed his strategy shot proper of the second inexperienced, there was an audible cheer from the gallery.

After Harman grabbed a 5-stroke lead with a 5-under 67 within the second spherical Friday, it appeared like all of Nice Britain wished anybody to win however him. He had turned England’s Tremendous Bowl right into a first-half rout and by no means relinquished the lead.

Harman, the Twenty sixth-ranked participant on the earth, completed his stunning run at rain-drenched Royal Liverpool by carding a 1-under 70 within the ultimate spherical Sunday to win the Claret Jug with a 72-hole whole of 271, which was 6 photographs higher than South Korea’s Tom Kim, Austria’s Sepp Straka, Australia’s Jason Day and Spain’s Jon Rahm.

“It is nice,” Harman stated of the jeering. “All people has acquired their crew they’re rooting for. Yeah, I heard them, and in the event that they wished me to not play nicely they need to have been very nice to me.”

Harman’s 6-stroke margin of victory matches the second largest in Open Championship historical past by golfers representing the US; Tiger Woods received the Claret Jug with an 8-stroke margin at St. Andrews in Scotland in 2000.

Harman, 36, is the oldest first-time main champion since Spain’s Sergio Garcia, 37, received the Masters in 2017. He collects $3 million for the win.

“I’ve all the time had a self-belief that I may do one thing like this,” Harman stated. “It is simply when it takes a lot time it is exhausting to not let your thoughts falter, like possibly I am not successful once more. I am 36 years outdated. [The] recreation is getting youthful. All these younger guys popping out, hit it a mile, and so they’re all able to win. Like when is it going to be my flip once more? “It has been exhausting to cope with. I believe somebody talked about that I’ve had extra prime 10s than anybody since 2017, in order that’s lots of occasions the place you get carried out, you are like, ‘Dammit, man, I had that one.’ It simply did not occur for no matter cause.”

Harman, a 125-1 underdog to win The Open, wasn’t a favourite in Las Vegas or exterior the ropes at Royal Liverpool. He most likely would not have wished it another means.

On Saturday, whereas enjoying with Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, Harman stated he heard some issues that had been “unrepeatable.”

“I would be mendacity if I did not hear some issues that weren’t tremendous good right this moment towards me,” Harman stated. “I hear them, however on the similar time, I do not attempt to let that affect the choice I am about to make.”

On Sunday, followers cheered loudly for Fleetwood, who grew up 30 miles away in Southport, England. They tried to rally Rory McIlroy, who received the final Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in 2014 and was making an attempt to finish a nine-year drought with no main championship title.

They cheered for American Cameron Younger, the lengthy hitter who began the ultimate spherical closest to Harman at 5 photographs again. They pulled for Rahm, Straka, Day and Kim, who was enjoying on a badly sprained ankle, and anybody else who appeared able to turning a three-day blowout into an exciting ending.

They simply did not pull for Harman, not less than not till it was too late to cheer for anybody else. That second got here on the par-4 14th gap when Harman drained a 40-foot putt for a birdie. He made an 8-footer for birdie on the par-5 fifteenth to maneuver to 13 underneath.

“I believe it is good for Harman,” stated PGA Tour participant Harris English, who was one in every of his teammates at Georgia. “It form of places a hearth in him. He is aware of he is not a favourite. I believe it provides him satisfaction to indicate all people that he is the most effective gamers on the earth.”

There’s little doubt about that now after Harman joined Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013) as the one left-handed gamers to win a Claret Jug. It’s his third PGA Tour victory and his first since he received the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship, which was six years and 77 days in the past. It was the fourth-longest winless drought in PGA Tour historical past to be snapped by a participant’s first main championship victory, in line with analysis by ESPN Stats & Data.

With the victory, Harman is anticipated to maneuver to No. 3 within the Ryder Cup factors. The highest six gamers within the standings after the BMW Championship on Aug. 20 will likely be automated qualifiers for the American crew that may compete in opposition to Europe at Marco Simone Golf and Nation Membership exterior Rome on Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Harman appears all however assured of constructing the crew for the primary time.

“He is a mudder, he is a grinder,” U.S. crew captain Zach Johnson stated Sunday. “For lack of a greater cliché, he is a bulldog. I believe he is made for this, you recognize? I’ve performed lots of golf with him and been round him out and in of the ropes for fairly some time now. What I’ve witnessed the final three days, completely none of it surprises me in any respect. No shock. No shock.”

As one of many smallest gamers on the PGA Tour at 5 ft, 7 inches and 150 kilos, Harman has been neglected and underrated all through his complete skilled profession. It is the explanation he has performed with a pot bunker-sized chip on his shoulder for thus lengthy.

“Folks underestimated him on the baseball area and soccer area, in all places,” stated Patton Kizzire, one in every of Harman’s closest pals on tour. “As a golfer, you can also make up for it. You do not have to be the most important one. I believe he loves being the underdog.”

After carding only one bogey within the first 36 holes, Harman discovered early bother for the second straight spherical Sunday. On the par-4 second, he hit his strategy shot previous the outlet. He chipped to twenty ft and wanted two putts to make a bogey. He made a 7 ½-foot putt to avoid wasting par after lacking the inexperienced on No. 3.

He discovered bother once more on the par-5 fifth gap, after pushing his tee shot into thick gorse down the correct facet. He needed to take a drop, and his third shot was nicely wanting the inexperienced. He didn’t rise up and down and made a bogey 6 to drop to 10 underneath. All of the sudden, his lead over Rahm was down to three. Fleetwood and Straka had been 4 strokes again.

However then, similar to Harman did after two early bogeys within the third spherical, he settled down. He hit his tee shot on the par-3 sixth to 13½ ft and sank a birdie. On the par-4 seventh, he drained a 23½-footer for an additional birdie to get again to 12 underneath. His lead was as soon as once more 5 strokes over Rahm and Straka.

After carding 5 straight pars, Harman made one other bogey on the par-3 thirteenth when he missed a 7-foot par putt, his first miss inside 10 ft in the complete event.

“I figured sooner or later that I used to be going to hit unhealthy photographs,” Harman stated. “Simply with the climate and the situation, you are going to hit unhealthy photographs. I knew that the best way I responded to that will decide whether or not I would be sitting right here or not.”