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Brian Harman dealt with both harsh conditions and a rowdy crowd during his Open Championship win. The lefty tallied his first ever major victory as he absolutely dominated the field at Royal Liverpool.
Much of the golf world was quick to note the nasty comments made by the gallery towards The Open champ. It appears the hate only fueled Harman’s incredible run in Hoylake.
The UGA grad got things started quickly with a first round 67 on Thursday. From there, he never left the top of the leaderboard.
That 67 was followed up with a 65 on Friday, giving him a sizeable advantage entering the last two stages of the tournament. Entering Saturday’s third round at -10, he just needed to maintain over the second half of play.
And maintain he would, shooting a combined -3 to finish at -13.
Making the win more impressive was the vitriol spewed Brian Harman’s way from the crowd in attendance. A number of viewers noted the unkind words, posting responses on social media.
Haven’t heard a gallery outwardly rooting against a player like they are Harman in quite a while.
— Dan Rapaport (@Daniel_Rapaport) July 23, 2023
As if dealing with a difficult course and subpar weather conditions on the final day wasn’t challenging enough, Harman overcame his opposition in the gallery to come out victorious.
He put an exclamation point on the win with a par on his final hole.
Congrats Brian Harman! Give the gallery on 18 a couple middle fingers.
— Drew (@drewscardshop) July 23, 2023
The crowd was something Brian Harman dealt with not only Sunday, but throughout the entirety of the tournament as he continued to build upon his big lead.
A friend of mine was out on 18 following Brian Harman and heard a spectator yell, F-in American and also calling Harman a F-in midget. Harman said he heard some “unrepeatables.” Just not called for but probably will have to deal with more of the same tomorrow.
— Adam Schupak (@AdamSchupak) July 22, 2023
His pre-shot waggle was enough to anger attendees in and of itself, but seeing the American longshot win the event took fans over the edge.
For a golfer that’s been criticized for getting into his own head when given the chance to win, he looked unfazed, maybe even motivated by the antagonists in the stands.
Brian Harman and his caddy coasting to a 6-shot victory at @TheOpen while the gallery openly roots against them and bettors across the world bet on a collapse pic.twitter.com/5KqjB51rbS
— Dimers.com (@DimersCom) July 23, 2023
When all was said and done, Harman took home the Claret Jug signifying the best performance his career. An impressive weekend for the Savannah native in the toughest of environments.