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2x NCAA Champion Coach Kirby Smart Now Credited With Inspiring British Open Winner

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Brian Harman hoists the Claret jug after his win at the Open Championship.

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Brian Harman gave a shoutout to Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart after his epic win at the Open Championship on Sunday. The golfer said that he thought back to Smart’s words when battling through his final round.

Those words of wisdom paid off as Harman hoisted the Claret jug following a dominant four-day performance. With the win, he landed his first ever major tournament victory.

Harman has a direct connection to the Bulldogs. A UGA grad, he played on the Georgia golf team from 2005 to 2009. The three-time Second Team All-American graduated with a degree in finance.

That might help him decide what to do with the $3 million he won over the weekend.

It was a monumental win for the lefty, who battled both a challenging course and a raucous crowd in Hoylake. Still, he overcame that and the elements on a rainy Sunday to close out a runaway victory.

Finishing at -13 on the weekend, Harman bested his next closest competitor by six strokes. He gave credit to his alma mater’s football coach after the win.

“I was a wreck last night,” Harman said. “I’ve been a wreck the whole week. You just try to grind it out. I just kept thinking of something Kirby Smart said, ‘Don’t be hunted.’ I’m not going to be hunted, I’m going to hunt.”

That motto is something that obviously worked for the Bulldogs on the football field as they capped a perfect season with a 65-7 win in the national title game.

Similarly, Brian Harman’s dominance came in the final major of the season with Kirby Smart’s words running through his mind. For a golfer that’s been criticized for getting in his own head when given the chance to win, that motivation might’ve been just what he needed to stay zoned in.

Smart paid his own respects following Harman’s win with a post on Twitter.

Interestingly enough, another Bulldog finished the tournament in second place with Sepp Straka ending the event at -7. Not a bad weekend for Georgia golfers in England.