Brian Harman defeated every obstacle in the British Open, including well-known competitors and unfavourable conditions, and earned his place among the major winners with a triumph at Royal Liverpool on Sunday that was never really in doubt.
After a rare bogey, Harman twice answered with back-to-back birdies, forcing everyone else to battle for second. He finished with a 1-under 70 and won by six shots after sinking an 8-foot par putt on the last hole.
He is the oldest first-time major champion at 36 years old since Sergio Garcia, who won the Masters at age 37 in 2017
Garcia was not unexpected. Few people anticipated this victory at the beginning of the week. Six years and 167 tournaments had passed since Harman’s last victory at the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. In his twelve years on the PGA Tour, he has only won three times.
Then the ardent hunter made winning golf’s oldest event appear as simple as shooting fish in a barrel.
Masters champion Jon Rahm tied Tom Kim (67), Sepp Straka (69), and Jason Day (69) for second place with a birdie on his final hole to finish with a 70.
That was the B-flight, it turned out
Rahm remarked, “He won by six, so there’s really nothing any of us could have done.
With the second of his four straight birdies early in the second round on Friday, Harman seized the lead. Over the final 51 holes, he never fell behind, and after the second and third rounds, he had a five-shot lead.
Fans in the stands either wanted a huge name or may not have been paying attention to the masterful performance Harman had given when he began the rainy round with a few boos. Harman claimed to have overheard a few remarks while playing with Englishman Tommy Fleetwood on Saturday that he would never be able to repeat.
However, he exudes Georgia grit, being unfazed by wind, rain, or either
He was given a standing ovation as he approached the 18th green and gave them a thank-you tap as he left the green. It was just a matter of signing his scorecard—a 13-under 271—and going back to pick up the silver claret jug, golf’s oldest trophy.
Brian Harman, the year’s best golfer. Consider that.
I think I’m going to drink a few pints off of this trophy, Harman added.
Even without any drama, the conclusion was appropriate. In only his third bunker in 72 holes, Harman’s approach shot from 194 yards into a pot bunker to the right of the 18th green. The main key of Royal Liverpool is that. He made the putt, giving him a week total of only 106.
Harman added, “I doubled down on my process, and I know it’s dull and not glamorous. But I hadn’t given the event a second thought before making that final bunker shot.
There was one anxious moment early on Sunday in a steady rain. Harman hit his drive into a gorse bush left of the fairway on the par-5 fifth hole and had to take a penalty drop. It led to his second bogey of the round.
Rahm, playing in the group ahead, looked to get one of those breaks that fall to major winners. His drive had landed between bushes, allowing for a shot just short of the green and a birdie.
The lead was down to three shots. The rain wasn’t stopping. The rest of the links, along with the pressure that comes with Sunday at a major, was still ahead of him.
On the par-3 sixth hole, Harman made a 15-foot birdie putt, followed by a 25-footer, and he was done
With five holes remaining, he missed another ball on the par-3 13th, cutting his advantage to four. He then made a birdie from 40 feet on the challenging 14th hole before making another one from 8 feet on the 15th.
Rory McIlroy, who had won the Scottish Open the previous week and was the final Open champion at Royal Liverpool in 2014, experienced further heartbreak as the year came to a close. Although he undoubtedly teased the big galleries that followed him, he was never really a factor.
Sunday was no exception. McIlroy started nine shots behind and ran off three straight birdies, starting with a 50-foot putt on No. 3. He was within five shots and still on the front nine. And then he stalled, not making another birdie until Harman was well on his way.
McIlroy was one shot better each round — 71-70-69-68 — to tie for sixth with Emiliano Grillo (68). That wasn’t nearly enough to match a performance like Harman delivered.
“I’m optimistic about the future and just got to keep plugging away,” said McIlroy, who now has gone 34 majors since winning his last one in 2014.
Cameron Young, the runner-up last year at St. Andrews, played in the final group with Harman and never applied any pressure. He hit a chip that rolled off the side of the green on the opening hole and made bogey, and he missed way too many putts inside 10 feet.
With a final score of 73, he tied for eighth place with Indian Shubhankar Sharma, who played a round of 70 that included 17 pars and one birdie
Harman has earned a five-year exemption to all major tournaments and has joined the line of Open winners at Hoylake that also includes McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones, and Walter Hagen.
He may also consider travelling back to Europe in September to attend the Ryder Cup in Rome. He moved comfortably up to third place in the standings thanks to the $3 million triumph. In a month, the top six automatically qualify.
Harman has never participated in a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup match. He climbs one spot to No. 10 globally. At Royal Liverpool for four days, he undoubtedly appeared the part.
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