US Edition
Brian Harman sees off golf's biggest names in dominant Open triumph
The Open Championship fourth round, full learderboard
By James Corrigan, Golf Correspondent at Hoylake
Brian Harman was as relentless as the rain here at Royal Liverpool on Sunday and to some sections of this crowd, might have been just as popular. But, be sure, this was one of the great putting performances of modern times that saw the 36-year-old crowned the Open champion.
It was a display to be hailed not derided. Harman will be billed as a shock winner - and the 200-1 odds available in the build-up will substantiate this perception - but he was the world No 26 and came in with a sixth in last year’s British major, as well as top 12s in in his last three starts.
How will he celebrate his £2.3m payday. “I’ve ordered a new tractor for my hunting place, so I’ll be mowing grass on that in the next few weeks,” he said. “I’m excited. The tractor is orange.” An unusual champion? No doubt, But, as Harman added: “I’ve got layers man.”
Still, nobody foresaw the awe of this procession. Harman won by six - only bowing in recent turns to Louis Oosthuizen’s seven-stroke glory in 2010 - but earlier they had all come to have a nibble at Harman’s heels, before only getting a whiff of his insole. World No 3 Jon Rahm got within three after Harman’s fifth hole and world No 2 Rory McIlroy was within four. Huge names, huge claims. The incessant downpour was testing, the challenge was set.
Except, Harman pulled away again, withstanding the conditions he later labelled - with maybe allowable hyperbole - as “Armageddon”. He bogeyed the fifth to revive the competitive pulse but proceeded to ring the life out its neck again with birdies on the sixth and seventh. It was Harman’s clinical MO for the week. He made six bogeys in his four rounds and on four of these occasions birdied the very next hole.
Harman would not quit. He strolled through the last 13 holes in three-under, while Rahm and McIlroy played the same stretch in level par. So much for the hunter being the hunted.
They were on his trail and he left them trailing as soon as he got a whiff of their intentions he sped away like a gazelle forcing Europe’s highest-ranked pair to resemble Elmer J Fudd - firing aimless shots into the distance. They had to take satisfaction with a share for second (Rahm on seven-under alongside Tom Kim, Sepp Straka and Jason Day) and with a share for sixth (McIlroy on six-under with Emiliano Grillo).
Harman revealed after his second-round 65 - when he grasped a commanding five shot lead he was never to forsake - that his hobby is shooting animals. Pigs, turkeys, ducks… he can add big game to that list, as well. And, hallelujah, this trophy-hunter picture of Harman with the Claret Jug will look rather more palatable on his Instagram than those of him grinning with an elk and an alligator.
“Beware the Butcher of Hoylake”. Certainly that will be the message in Rome when the Europe and US teams convene in Rome in September. Zach Johnson, the US captain, was the first player to greet him as went to sign his card. “Grazie, mille…”
On this form, and with a flat-stick that defined a new sport of dominance in the Open, Harman will be a murderous opponent.
“This does not surprise me in the least - he is a dear friend of mine,” Johnson said. “No 1, Brian is a very formidable competitor. No 2, what does Brian do really well? He does everything really well. He’s a very good driver of the golf ball and a very, very, very good putter…. that can be pretty lethal. And he has that grittiness”
Indeed, Harman has an aversion to yanking those makeable putts and when he does, ensures the radar is quickly recalibrated to bounce straight back. Harman reached the 13th on Sunday - his 67th hole - having accumulated a streak of holing 54 times in succession from inside 10 feet.
Harman was basically guaranteed the “And the Champion of the Year…” honours by then, but actually missed a seven-footer for par. Shock, horror! The next hole he canned a 40-footer for birdie. You would call him eagle-eyed - if you did not fear for the eagle, that is.
“He won by six, so there’s nothing really any of us could have done,” Rahm said, shaking his head. “There’s nothing any of us could have done.”
Rahm’s Saturday 63 was a highlight and having won the Masters in April, this was a fine year for the 28-year-old. Straka must surely have inked in his name for the Europe Ryder Cup team - he also finished tied seventh in the USPGA two months ago - and Luke Donald will be pleased to have the Austrian. He will be delighted to have McIlroy with yet more to prove, as well.
McIlroy began so brightly, just as he had on Saturday, playing his first five holes in three-under. Again his charge came to a halt and this means that he will go into a 10th year without adding to his four majors. He will not lose hope, but it must be noted that only seven players in history have gone a decade or more in between winning majors.
The world No 2 is seemingly at the top of his game, but the paradox appears to be that his task of reaching five is actually becoming more difficult.
Does that apply to England as well? Well, the nation’s Open “curse” - as Justin Rose referred at the start of the week to the St George failure to lift the Claret Jug since 1992 - will stretch into a 32nd year. The two local favourites were Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Jordan and they finished a tie for 10th on four-under, following a 70 and 72 respectively. Fleetwood looked distraught as he trudged up mud at the 18th. In contrast, Harman was walking on air.
Brian Harman strolls to Open victory - as it happened
Brian Harman claims his first major
Brian Harman survived an early scare to claim his first major title in dominant fashion on a rain-soaked final day at Royal Liverpool.
The American’s five-shot overnight lead was briefly cut to three as he covered the first five holes in two over par, but the 36-year-old responded superbly to regain a vice-like grip on the Claret Jug.
He posted 13 under par for the week and secured a six-shot win over Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Sepp Straka and Tom Kim.
Harman's major record prior to this was distinctly average
Harman’s only other 54-hole lead was at the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, where he began the final day with a one-stroke lead but finished in a tie for second as Brooks Koepka won by four.
His major record prior to Royal Liverpool was distinctly average, with missed cuts in 13 of 29 events and only two top-10 finishes. He has missed the cut in four of the eight Opens in which he has played but has finished sixth and first in his last two.
Brian Harman speaks with Sky Sports
Better late than never. To be the Open Champion is just incredible.
I just doubled down on my process. I know it’s boring and it’s not flashy. Until I hit that last bunker shot I didn’t think about wining this tournament.
That one [the putter] is not coming out the bag anytime soon. She was misbehaving a little earlier this year, but it’s been incredible really.
I got a really good night’s sleep last night, a really nice dinner. I was really comfortable waking up this morning.
Brian Harman gives his speech upon presentation of the Claret Jug
It’s a short one:
I’ve got to thank my wife, my family back home. I sure miss them. But first I’ll be having a couple of pints out of this trophy.
This golf course was a real test. Even with the weather, it was set up so great.
I want to thank the R&A for putting together such an incredible championship.
There were four players tied for 2nd (-7) at Hoylake
Tom Kim of South Korea (67), Australia’s Jason Day (69), Sepp Straka of Austria (69) and Jon Rahm of Spain (70) tied for second at 7 under par. Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Emiliano Grillo of Argentina each shot 68 to tie for sixth at 6 under.
Disaster for Fleetwood on the 17th
He goes big off the tee, finding the dirt patch surrounded by gorse off the back of the green. He has no swing so has to go sideways out. His third shot only finds the rough on the back of the green and it takes him three more shots to get down from there as he picks up a triple bogey and tumbles down to tied-12th on -3.
Rory McIlroy speaks with Sky Sports
I got off to the ideal start again. That’s basically what I’ve done everyday. Big putt on three, followed that up with a couple of really good holes on four and five.
It’s just hard to keep it going. The conditions are difficult.
This week, if it weren’t for one guy, I’d be right there. Playing well, keep putting myself in there. Still another really solid performance, still a lot of golf to play this year.
Confidence is high. I’m playing well, obviously off the back of a win last week. Another solid performance in there.
The defending champion Cameron Smith has finished his round
He finishes on one-over par for the tournament. Speaking with Sky Sports, he said:
It was unreal, I think the fans made it all. You know, walking up to the greens and tees, tt’s unreal. I haven’t experienced anything like that for a while.
Harman is a par train at the moment
The latest coming at the 12th. He just needs to keep on that train and the Claret Jug is his. All he needs is to be Nick Faldo at Muirfield in 1987 (18 pars in the final round) fairways and greens and there will be no drama.
Though, that’s easier said than done and the 17th may yet throw up more drama...
Rory's week in a nutshell
That’s what they say on Sky comms and it’s not too far wrong. They are commenting on his three putt on 16 which means he drops back to five-under. He looks dejected as he walks off the green and it’s not exactly tough to see why. The shortstick has not been his friend this week - a familiar story and one that must be getting to him as he tries to win the uber-elusive fifth major title.
Another par for Harman
This one comes at 10 - thanks to a regulation two-putt from 30 feet - and he’ll know better than anyone that pars are all he needs. He stays at 12-under and remains five shots clear.
The chasing pack needs him to help them and, at the moment, that doesn’t look as though it’s going to happen.
Harman (-10) is looking a little clumsy
He puts too much on his chip from 24 yards and sails 12 feet past the hole.
His playing partner Young takes two out of the left greenside bunker.
Harman misses, dropping to -10. He’s just three shots ahead now.
Young also misses, dropping to -5.
Harman stabs at the approach
“It’s like playing out of a wet mop,” on the Sky Sports commentary. It’s a really steep approach and he has to keep the speed up on the clubface to guarantee getting it out.
And he sends its eight feet past the flag.
He upholds his record of putting within 10 feet and sinks the par.
Fleetwood tees off on the 1st
Tommy goes down the rough on the right, 245 yards.
His playing partner Straka goes straight down the fairway, one of the longer one we’ve seen in the last hour or so.
Meanwhile Alex Fitzpatrick (-5) has tapped in his 15th birdie of the week on the green of the 1st, a right-to-left monster from 72 feet.
Fancy a flutter?
Play is underway at Royal Liverpool but there’s still time to get involved and take advantage of these Open Championship betting offers.
Jim White: "Conditions are biblical"
When Lancashire County Cricket Club last won the county championship in 2011, there was one simple reason for their success. Their home at Manchester’s Old Trafford was being redeveloped and they played most of their home matches in Liverpool, where, historically, it has always rained less and they had a chance to get a result. Today, however, any difference in conditions between the two cities is not in evidence; the entire north west appears to be under a hosepipe. Had the fourth Ashes test been staged at Aigburth instead of Old Trafford it would still have been washed away. Here at Hoylake the conditions are biblical. The only difference with what is going on 35 miles down the road in Manchester is that at least at the golf you can still keep playing.
A slight delay to Rory's round
Matt Fitzpatrick needed a ruling in the game ahead of him.
Grillo is out the blocks, sending his drive into the rough on the right.
A huge roar for Rory as the announcer introduces him. He goes down the fairway edge to the left, leaving him 210 to the pin.
South African Christo Lamprecht wins the Silver Medal
The 22-year-old, who held a share of the lead on five under after the first round, ended his week in Hoylake with a closing 74 to finish 11 over par.
That formally secured the prize for the tournament’s leading amateur, although as the only non-professional to have made the cut that had been a formality.
Lamprecht, who at 6ft 8ins had been the tallest man in the field, said:
It’s been a week with every bit of emotion – coming off a high on Thursday and just not having it the last three days.
But obviously standing here being the last amateur standing and getting the Silver Medal, it puts a smile back on my face.
I wasn’t really goal-orientated but obviously it is a nice achievement to have and I’m very proud of it. It wasn’t a goal per se, but it’s pretty nice to finish off the week like that.
McIlroy's major drought looks set to extend into a second decade after missed opportunities on the putting green yesterday
Rory McIlroy is many things; an incredible golfer, a four-time major champion, a husband, a father. He is also, apparently, a masochist.
After missing yet another birdie opportunity on the final hole of his third round yesterday – McIlroy’s seventh birdie miss from inside 17 feet – the Northern Irishman marched off the green, over the footbridge that connects the 18th at Hoylake with the scorer’s hut, straight past the mixed zone, declining all interviews, signed for a two-under-par 69, and then marched straight to the putting green in front of the clubhouse.
One hopes he managed to exorcise his demons because McIlroy is going to need his putter to be red-hot if he is to stand any chance of winning this Open and prevent his ‘barren’ spell in majors extending into a second decade.
He tees off at 1pm. Read Tom Cary’s analysis.
Betting tips
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Winner odds:
Brian Harman: 4/7
Jon Rahm: 15/2
Cameron Young: 8/1
Viktor Hovland: 20/1
Scottie Scheffler's putting in a good shift today
After rounds of 70, 75 and 72, he was +4 going in to the final round. He’s since cut this to +1 with four birdies (and a bogey) and has launched a delicious 320 drive down the fairway on the 15th followed by an approach to the green giving him 26 feet to the pin. An eagle chance to come for the World No 1.
Harman’s to lose?
Brian Harman has never won a major tournament and the most recent of his two PGA Tour titles came six years ago, but his commanding five-shot lead may have the rest of the Open field playing for second place.
On his third round, Harman bogeyed the opening hole and then went long of the fourth green for another bogey yesterday. His five-shot lead suddenly was down to two shots.
But this proved to be a blip and he subsequently shot four birdies to post a two-under par round of 69 and maintain a five-shot lead of -12.
“I got off to a rough start, but I stayed the ship,” Harman said. “I hit a bunch of good ones coming down the stretch... I was out there trying to hit every shot the best I could, and I did an OK job with that.”
“I had sort of righted the ship, and then I hit a loose one off 7 tee box and was able to make par to keep me from going backwards again,” he said.
Jon Rahm meanwhile set the Royal Liverpool record for the British Open with a 63. He started the day 12 shots back and cut the deficit in half, making, putting him second in contention behind Harman.
“The job today was to come out and give myself the best opportunity I could. Whenever you get a birdie, just thinking about one more. That’s simply all you can do,” Rahm said. “I’ve done what I’ve needed, which is give myself an opportunity.”
“I was very comfortable off the tee,” he said. “When you are comfortable off the tee, it’s very easy to stay aggressive.”
Tommy Fleetwood (-5) is off at 1:45pm, Jon Rahm is off at 2:05pm and the final pairing of Brian Harman and Cameron Young (-7) are off at 2:15pm.