Brian Harman took a commanding lead at The Open Championship on Friday… and then never let go. Golf Twitter had to celebrate a dominant showing.
Some of the best players in the world were in the mix atop the leaderboard at The Open Championship. Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Tom Kim and a red-hot Sepp Straka were all jostling at -7 in the final round on Sunday, Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and Tommy Fleetwood were hanging around a stroke or two behind them, creating what could’ve been some drama at Royal Liverpool.
And it all would’ve mattered if they didn’t get boat-raced by Brian Harman.
Harman was in the mix, one stroke off of the pace, after the first round, but ran out to the top of The Open leaderboard on Friday with a 6-under 65 to take a five-stroke lead into the weekend. Even though he’d never won a major and hadn’t won on Tour since 2017, you could’ve never told that from his play over the final 36 holes.
Aside from a few squirrely shots early on Saturday, Harman was as cool of a customer as you’ll find, recording rounds of 69 and 70 on the weekend, including sinking a nails par putt on the 72nd hole to become Champion Golfer of the Year.
https://twitter.com/GolfChannel/status/1683166391862542336
Brian Harman dominates The Open Championship: Golf Twitter celebrates
As unexpected as it was, golf Twitter had to celebrate the truly dominant performance from Brian Harman as he captured the first major championship of his career at 36 years old and doing so by six strokes.
https://twitter.com/JustinRayGolf/status/1683165410567286785
Harman's the only one that touched -9, -10, -11, -12, and -13.
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) July 23, 2023
Straka was the only one who touched -8, and he held that number for 2 holes.
Just a truly legendary performance, and one of the biggest shockers (domination wise) in recent memory in a majors.
Be hilarious if Harman purposely choked and we got a live cam on this guy’s reaction to it pic.twitter.com/MScnghQq3I
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) July 23, 2023
As if he'd miss the putt at the end.
— Fried Egg Golf (@the_fried_egg) July 23, 2023
Unreal performance from Harman all week. Complete control
Brian Harman ...
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) July 23, 2023
• Beat the No. 1 player in the world by 13
• Gained 18 strokes in the field
• Lost to three golfers on Thursday and none on Friday
• Made 58/59 putts inside 10 feet
• Showed monster stones over the last 36
• Is the Champion Golfer of the Year
Huge congratulations to Savannah native and former Georgia golfer Brian Harman for winning the Open Championship. Can't wait to see the Claret Jug in Sanford Stadium this fall. pic.twitter.com/8e6YUMKWGu
— Anthony Dasher (@AnthonyDasher1) July 23, 2023
Brian Harman made 58 of 59 putts inside 10 feet this week @TheOpen. pic.twitter.com/xBAGVeHqoN
— Skratch (@Skratch) July 23, 2023
thinking about Brian Harman barking at a crowd of baffled Italians in Rome, like he had seen someone in a Florida sweatshirt in the Publix
— ANTIFAldo (@ANTIFAldo) July 23, 2023
1. Harman
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) July 23, 2023
T2. The entire European Ryder Cup team
Harman was north of 100/1 on the odds board coming into the week, but once play started, he left no doubt who the best in the field was this week.
The Savannah, GA native has long been underrated on the PGA Tour, a lefty who hits it way shorter than his peers, has a diminutive stature, and waggles more than the Shimmy Shimmy Shake before a shot. But when it comes to the game and his competitive nature, Harman has found himself in the mix several times before.
But to close the book on your first major victory in such dominant fashion isn’t a fluke. It may have been the week of his life, but it was a peak in an underrated career. Now he’ll have a Claret Jug on his mantle to show for it.
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