Hoylake, England. A final round at any major championship is the epitome of gut-wrenching pressure. There is no way to simulate the feelings and going through the gauntlet of mental and physical ebbs and flows is an ongoing battle.
Harman arrived at the tee for the final round five shots ahead of his nearest pursuer and fellow American Cameron Young.
Just as he did during the third round Harman was anything but harmonious for the first five holes. The 5’7″ inch tall pro dropped shots at both the 2nd and 5th holes.
Harman righted his slide with consecutive birdies at the 6th and 7th holes. His play never wavered to where it was in serious doubt and his rivals could only mount a tepid counterpoint.
There was one final bogey at the challenging par-3 13th but it was the dangerous dog-leg left par-4 14th that sent a defining statement that only Harman’s hands would clutch the Claret Jug at day’s end.
After a fine drive his second shot nestled roughly 40 feet away. The putt was true as so many others had been for Harman throughout the championship. He was the number one putter for The Open and while a number of pundits wondered if his putting prowess would hold up, there was no doubt in Harman’s mind the harmony of his stroke would remain constant.
At the par-5 15th he put an exclamation point on the proceedings with his final birdie for the event.
A fitting closing seven-foot par putt provided a round of 70 and a six-shot margin of several players. Harman pocketed a cool $3 million but it was his utter tenacity that was on full display at Royal Liverpool.
Sadly, there were instances in which bellicose gallery members lobbed verbal insults at him throughout the championship. Harman placed himself in a self-enclosed silo and never wavered from his focus to deviate.
During the event much was made of the fact that Harman had only two previous wins on the PGA Tour and when he was in the final pairing for the 2017 U.S. Open he was outplayed by eventual winner Brooks Koepka.
Harman’s career has produced over $29 million in earnings and a slew of top ten finishes.
Unless something goes completely off track it is likely Harman will be a member of his first professional team event as a member of the USA squad for the Ryder Cup matches coming up in Rome this Fall.
Related: It would mean the world to me – Brian Harman relishing chance of Ryder Cup debut
Links golf is the last bastion in which consummate shotmaking is still a central ingredient to success. Harman used a deft touch on the greens and for the event only had six bogies, the fewest in the field, which outlines the error-free type of game he personifies.
“Sleeping on a lead like that is really difficult, so glad of the way I hung in there the last couple days.
“Got off to a bad start both days and turned it around, so really happy with that,” said Harman.
When all other rivals went through a number of ups and downs it was Harman who kept his harmony intact.
“I’m 36 years old. Game is getting younger. All these young guys coming out, hit it a mile, and they’re all ready to win. Like when is it going to be my turn again. 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,” said the new Open Champion.
“Yeah, to come out and put a performance like that together, like start to finish, just had a lot of control. I don’t know why this week, but I’m very thankful that it was this week.”
Gritty throughout and in near perfect balance in facing the crush of emotions that come with any major championship.
Total harmony for Harman.
