Brian Harman is all smiles now that he’s got the Claret Jug in his possession, but he admits it was a brutal experience winning the Open Championship knowing the majority of the Royal Liverpool crowd were pulling for someone else.
While some have lamented the lack of drama over the weekend at Hoylake, that’s all down to the excellence of Harman’s play as the leader just would not let anyone get near him for two days.
The American left-hander also showed a huge amount of heart and character, with a man previously with just two PGA Tour wins held his nerve when faced with the likes of Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm gunning all for him.
And Harman was left in no doubt as to who the Hoylake masses wanted to win the Claret Jug at the weekend – it certainly wasn’t him.
“They don’t care for an underdog over there! None of those Cinderella underdog stories right?” Harman joked on the Dan Patrick Show.
“It was brutal, man. I’ve always appreciated the fans there because they’re very knowledgeable, they know when to clap, they know the game and they know guys like me.
“I can go to Tour events in the United States and a lot of people have no idea who I am and that’s fine, But over there they cover golf a little differently so I’ve always appreciated their knowledge of the game.
“But boy, did they not want me to win that golf tournament.”
Harman's win may have upset the crowd, and those golf fans who crave Sunday drama in the Majors, but in terms of closing out a tournament his performance was right up there with the best you'll see.
He started badly both Saturday and Sunday but the way he rallied and responded showed a champion's mentality - and his mindset during those rounds makes for fascinating listening.
“I tried my best not to think about it (winning the Open) but I started to get some really good feelings about it on the back nine with a big lead," Harman added.
"But I just knew that if I could stick to what I was doing I didn’t feel that there was anyone who could beat me – I was playing really, really good, I had putted so good all week and I just felt like I was in control.
Brian Harman (@HarmanBrian) discusses winning #TheOpen and some of the heckling he got from the fans.Full interview: https://t.co/Msu1XnqSPW pic.twitter.com/sUzg3eBRpxJuly 25, 2023
“I was a ball of nerves Saturday and Sunday and I hit some loose golf shots, especially at the start of the day both on Saturday and Sunday – I hit it right into the middle of a gorse bush on a reachable par five.
"I heard Rory making birdies and Jon Rahm had just made a birdie and you know those guys are going to play great, you know they’re going to give you 100 percent – and they’ve done it and I hadn’t.
"So that would’ve been a nice place for the wheels to come off but they didn’t and I'm proud of how I hung in there."
