Brian Harman Dominates in Winning the British Open
Brian Harman is a first-time major champion, winning the 151st British Open on Sunday at Royal Liverpool.
The 36-year-old PGA Tour veteran led by five shots after the second round and never trailed over the weekend, including a rainy Sunday where a number of challengers gathered but couldn't get close down the stretch.
With rounds of 67-65-69-70, Harman won at 13-under-par 271 and cashed a $3 million first-place check. Four players finished at 7 under in a tie for second: Jason Day, Tom Kim, Jon Rahm and Sepp Straka.
When Harman appeared vulnerable in the final round, he came right back with birdies. He bogeyed two of his first five holes; at the par-5 5th he failed to get up and down from the front of green after taking a drop from a gorse bush off the tee. He then birdied the par-3 6th and added another at the 7th, getting back to the five-shot advantage he had at the start of the round.
A string of 54 consecutive made putts inside 10 feet was snapped when he bogeyed the 13th, yet on the next hole he buried a 40-footer for birdie. And then added another at the 15th.
Three pars to close out the round sealed Harman's place in history and the Claret Jug's engraver had begun his work.
Harman, in his 30th major start, is the oldest first-time major winner since Sergio Garcia, who was 37 when he won the 2017 Masters. Harman had won twice on the PGA Tour, most recently the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship.
After some struggles earlier this year including a missed cut at the Masters, the former University of Georgia star turned things around. He tied for second at the Travelers Championship and tied for ninth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic before his tie for 12th last week at the Scottish Open.
After his third round, Harman was asked what his biggest achievement in golf was.
"This year will be the 12th straight year that I've made the FedExCup playoffs," he said. "I'm not sure how many guys have done that. I'm proud of that."
He has a new answer to that question now.
Harman joins Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open) as first-time major champions this year. Jon Rahm (Masters) and Brooks Koepka (PGA Championship) won this year's other majors.
Rory McIlroy, the winner of the last Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014, shot 68 and finished at 6 under par in a tie for 6th. It's his 20th top 10 in a major since winning his last at the 2014 PGA Championship.
Amateur Christo Lamprecht, whose first-round 66 shared the lead, finished tied for 74th and claimed low-amateur honors.