Brian Harman: A closer look at the 2023 Open champion
Brian Harman won his first major with victory at The Open (David Davies/PA).
American Brian Harman secured his first major title with a six-shot victory at Royal Liverpool.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the new Open champion.
Early days
Harman, now 36, made his PGA Tour bow while still an amateur at the 2004 MCI Heritage. He played on the victorious 2005 and 2009 Walker Cup teams. His first tour win arrived a decade later at the John Deere Classic, a victory which qualified him for an Open debut – at Hoylake. His second – and last up to this weekend – win was at the Wells Fargo Classic in 2017. Despite that, Harman had still won almost 29million US dollars prior to his Open victory – worth 3m USD (£2.3m).
Hole lotta fun
In 2015 he became only the third player in PGA Tour history to have two holes in one in the same round at The Barclays at Plainfield Country Club, New Jersey.
Previous record
Harman’s previous best finish at The Open was last year at St Andrews (Richard Sellers/PA)
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.
Huntin’, shootin’ and fishin’
Golf is the only thing he does left-handed. Harman is a keen hunter, killed his first deer aged 12, and owns a farm in St Simon’s Island in his native Georgia. He responded to missing the cut at the Masters in April by returning to his farm in Georgia and killing a pig and a turkey. However, he insists he has a “deep respect” for animals and is “not a fan of people who kill for sport”. Many of his family members are world-class scuba divers and spear fishers.
Random facts
Harman marks his golf balls with dots that look like deer tracks. He once said his favourite television show was ‘Duck Dynasty’, about a Louisiana business making products for duck hunters. He claimed they “remind me of my family, such rednecks”. At the time of his Open triumph he had just over over 20,000 followers on Instagram and just over 30,000 on Twitter. He has not tweeted for over three years. He has been reminded several times this week of his likeness to former Australia cricket captain Ricky Ponting – a “handsome fella”, according to Harman.
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