Brian Harman streets Open Championship field Jason Day shares 2nd
Brian Harman Open Champion – image R&A via Getty
Brian Harman took the Open Championship lead following a second round of 65 and it was a case of catch me if you can from that point, the 36-year-old winning his first major and third PGA Tour title by six shots over Jason Day, Tom Kim, Sepp Straka and John Rahm.
With constant drizzle and rain throughout the day, Harman offered some hope to his chasers when he dropped shots at the 2nd and 5th to be just three ahead of the chasing pack but he regained control with birdies at the 6th and 7th and although he bogeyed the 13th, birdies at the 14th and 15th put the seal on a round of 70 and a comprehensive victory.
None of his pursuers were able to make a serious dent in the lead during a damp and miserable final day although South Korean and rising superstar, Tom Kim, overcame bogeys at his opening two holes to produce an eagle and four birdies in his round of 67 and a share of 2nd place.
Beyond the winner, it was a congested leaderboard with just two shots separating the next eight players but Harman’s win was emphatic, and despite the fact he has played well in major championships previously having finished runner-up at the 2017 US Open and 6th in this event last year, his victory came as a surprise to most, perhaps even himself.
“I’m over the moon. It was a tough last three days, really was,” said Harman referring to holding the lead over the final 36 holes and the gloomy weather.
“I haven’t historically done very good in the rain,” said Harman. “It’s just always bugged me. I was really proud of the way that I struck the ball in the rain today.
“You know, yesterday was supposed to be terrible (weather), and I got out and the weather turned and it was fantastic weather, all things considered, yesterday.
“Then today I’m looking at the forecast, and I’m like, what the hell do they know, and I get out here and it’s Armageddon. It was bad. It was really tough.
“Being able to get some sleep was big last night. Sleeping on a lead like that is really difficult, so glad of the way I hung in there the last couple days. Got off to a bad start both days and turned it around, so really happy with that.”
When asked if he had allowed himself the luxury of thinking about winning during the course of the day, Harman said; “There were fleeting thoughts throughout the day, but I told myself I wasn’t going to let any of that come into my brain. So any time it came, I just thought of something else.
“I really honestly didn’t think about winning until I had the ball on the green on 18. There were fleeting thoughts throughout the day, but I told myself I wasn’t going to let any of that come into my brain. So any time it came, I just thought of something else.”
An incident early in the day helped steel his resolve.
“After I made the second bogey yesterday, a guy, when I was passing him, he said, Harman, you don’t have the stones for this. That helped. (Laughter).
“Anyway, it helped snap me back into I’m good enough to do this. I’m going to do this. I’m going to go through my process, and the next shot is going to be good.”
Harman will move to number 10 in the world ranking having never previously been inside the top 20 and pocket US$3 million for the win.
Jason Day during today’s final round – image R&A via Getty
Jason Day recorded his best finish at the Open Championship, bettering his previous best of 4th at the 2015 Championship at St Andrews and he was delighted despite missing opportunities both today and late in yesterday’s third round to creep closer.
“Considering my play over the last month and a bit, it hasn’t been that great, and then obviously I didn’t have the greatest confidence coming into this week, but to be able to finish tied second was nice.
“Unfortunately, I hadn’t played that great in the majors this year, so it was nice to be able to finish this major off and finish tied second. Just the slow, gradual increase in confidence through good play.
“But you know, yeah, I wish I would have cut into the lead a little bit more. You just never know. When someone has such a great lead, a big lead, big margin, and then you kind of cut into it, you just never know what they’re going to do under the pump.”
For Day it was his best finish in a major championship since his runner-up effort at the 2016 PGA Championship but it would be his 5th runner-up finish at this level.
“Obviously you want to win every week, but everyone looks at the majors to — yeah, it’s ones that you want to win. You always count how many majors you can win, and obviously, people ask — they say how many tournaments you’ve got, but they always look at how many major championships you’ve got, as well.
“At some point, I’m going to get off one and get my second one.”
Day moves up to number 21 in the world and earns US$1,084,000 for his 4-way share of the runner-up position.
