Brian Harman celebrates on his 18th golf course after winning the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, on Sunday.
Kin Cheung/AP
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Kin Cheung/AP
Brian Harman celebrates on his 18th golf course after winning the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England, on Sunday.
Kin Cheung/AP
HOYLAKE, England – Brian Harman weathered every challenge at the British Open, from big names to bad weather, and took his place among the major champions on Sunday with a never-before-serious win over Royal Liverpool.
Harman twice responded to a rare bogey with consecutive birdies, sending the others into second place. He finished 1 under 70, hitting an 8-foot par on the last hole to win six shots.
At 36, he is the oldest player to win the title for the first time since Sergio Garcia was 37 when he won the Masters in 2017.
Garcia is not a surprise. Not many people can see this victory coming at the start of the week. Harman has entered 167 tournaments in more than six years since his last win at the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. This was just his third title in 12 years on the PGA Tour.
And then the outdoor enthusiast has made winning golf’s oldest championship as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.
Masters champion Jon Rahm birdie on the last hole with a score of 70 to take second place in a four-way match against Tom Kim (67), Sepp Straka (69) and Jason Day (69).
It turned out to be flight B.
“He won by 6, so there’s really nothing we can do about it,” Rahm said.
Harman took the lead Friday morning with the second of four early birdies in the second round. He never made it past the final 51 holes, leading with 5 shots after the second round and 5 shots after the third round.
He started the half in the rain with boos from the stands, fans either wanting a big star or perhaps not paying attention to the class performance Harman delivered. Playing with Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood on Saturday, Harman said he had heard some comments he described as unrepeatable.
But he’s full of Georgian grit, never flinching from rain, sun, or wind.
He walked towards the 18th green to a standing ovation and clapped his hands in his heart to thank the fans as he stepped off the green. All that’s left is to sign his card – 13-under 271 – and return for the silver wine jug, the oldest trophy in golf.
Brian Harman, Champion Golfer of the Year. Imagine that.
“I believe I will have a few pints from this trophy here,” Harman said.
The ending, even without any drama, is appropriate. Harman hit his approach from 194 yards into a bunker to the right of the 18th hole, only the third he has been in over 72 holes. That is the biggest crux of the Royal Liverpool. And he did hit the ball, giving him only 106 points for the week.
“I doubled down on my process and I knew it was boring and not flashy,” says Harman. “But, until I hit that last bunker hit, I didn’t think about winning the tournament.”
There was a moment of anxiety early Sunday during a steady downpour. Harman hit his drive into a gorse bush to the left of the fairway on the par-5 fifth hole and had to take a penalty. It led to his second bogey of the inning.
Rahm, playing in the front group, managed to land one of those breaks for the big winners. His shot landed among the bushes, allowing for a shot close to the green and a birdie.
The lead is only three shots. The rain did not stop. The rest of the links, along with the pressure coming on Sunday at a major tournament, are still ahead of him.
Harman puts in a 15-foot birdie putt on the sixth par-3, a 25-foot birdie putt on the next hole and he’s moving on.
He dropped another shot on the 13th par-3, bringing his lead down to four shots with five shots. And then he did a 40-foot birdie on the 14th hard day, and then an 8-foot birdie on the 15th.
The year ended with more disappointment for Rory McIlroy, who won the Scottish Open last week and was the last Open champion at Royal Liverpool in 2014. He has never really been a factor, although he has certainly teased the major galleries that followed him.
Sunday is no exception. McIlroy started nine shots behind and made three straight birdies, starting with a 50-foot hit in the No. 3. He hit five shots and still had a nine-shot lead. And then he stopped, not making another birdie until Harman was on the right track.
McIlroy was better by one turn per round – 71-70-69-68 – to tie for sixth with Emiliano Grillo (68). That’s not nearly enough to match a performance like Harman delivered.
“I’m optimistic about the future and have to keep trying,” said McIlroy, who has now attended 34 major tournaments since winning the last one in 2014.
Cameron Young, last year’s runner-up at St. Andrews, played in the last group with Harman and never put any pressure on. He hit a chip that rolled off the green at the opening and made a bogey, and he missed too many shots over 10 feet.
He finished with 73 and tied for eighth with India’s Shubhankar Sharma, who had 17 pars and a birdie in round 70.
Harman currently enjoys a five-year exemption from all majors and joins a roster of Open champions at Hoylake that includes McIlroy and Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen.
He could also think about returning to Europe in September for the Ryder Cup in Rome. The $3 million win puts him comfortably at 3rd on the leaderboard. The top six a month from now will automatically qualify.
Harman has never played in the Ryder Cup or the Presidents Cup. He moved up to 10th place in the world. During his four days at Royal Liverpool, he certainly watched the part.
