… and with that, Brian Harman, champion golfer of the year, walks off staring at the Claret Jug that’s just been thrust into his hand. He won’t put that down for a while, you can be sure of that. Hope he enjoys filling it with booze and celebrating the crowning achievement of his career, after deservedly winning the Open in fuss-free style. Thanks for reading this blog. See you again next year at Troon!
Updated
-13: Brian Harman
-7: Tom Kim, Sepp Straka, Jason Day, Jon Rahm
-6: Emiliano Grillo, Rory McIlroy
-5: Shubhankar Sharma, Cameron Young
-4: Max Homa, Matthew Jordan, Tommy Fleetwood
-3: Henrik Stenson, Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Detry, Viktor Hovland
-2: Laurie Canter, Xander Schauffele, Alex Fitzpatrick
-1: Tyrrell Hatton, Im Sung-jae, Antoine Rozner
E: Adrian Meronk, Scottie Scheffler, Matthew Southgate, Louis Oosthuizen, Alex Noren, Stewart Cink, An Byeong-hun, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, Nicolai Hojgaard
Updated
Brian Harmon is interviewed by Sky. “Better late than never … I’ve thought about this my whole life … being the Open champion is just incredible … I just doubled down on my process … I know it’s boring and not flashy but until I hit that last bunker shot I didn’t think about winning this golf tournament … there were a couple of days in a row when I could have let it get sideways but I didn’t and I’m really proud of that … I was taking a shower this morning and I thought ‘you can’t win the Open in the shower, don’t think about it, left foot, right foot, let’s get it done’ … the putter isn’t coming out of the bag any time soon … it’s been with me a long time, she was misbehaving a little earlier this year but it’s been incredible lately … I got a really good night’s sleep last night, I didn’t when sleeping on a one-shot lead at the US Open, so I was really comfortable when I woke up this morning … beautiful weather! … the fans were incredible, thank y’all so, so much, incredible!”
He adds: “This golf course was a real test … it was set up so great even with the weather … the golf course was excellent, thank you … I want to thank the R&A for putting together such an incredible championship … I couldn’t be happier to be its champion … to all the fans, for all the nice words, and to all the people back home, who were rooting me on, I appreciate it so much … thank you, thank you, thank you!” It might have taken a while, but the Hoylake crowd are properly falling for him now!
It’s time for the presentation of the Claret Jug. But before that, the dude from the R&A makes his speech. Yada yada yada. Finally the leading amateur and winner of the silver medal, Christo Lamprecht, is handed his prize. Then on comes the champion golfer of the year. Brian Harman is handed the claret jug and prepares to make his acceptance speech. He’s offered an umbrella, but turns it down, laughing that he’s been under one all day. “I gotta thank my wife and family back home, I sure miss them,” he begins. “I can’t wait to get back to them tomorrow, but first I’m going to have me a couple of pints out of this here trophy I believe!” Gotta love that southern drawl. He’s one seriously charming dude.
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Jon Rahm pops into the scorer’s tent to congratulate the new champion. They hug and Harman laughs heartily. Harman kept his counsel while going about his business, but now the emotions are running free. It’s lovely to see. It’s also refreshing to see a big tournament won by a player who can’t rely on distance, but that’s a subject for another day.
Harman becomes Hoylake’s second Open champion to hail from Georgia, after the legendary Bobby Jones, won won here in 1930. A surprise winner perhaps, but one with a pedigree that befits an Open champion: he’s already got a runner-up finish at the US Open to his name, and has been trending in the right direction at the Open, having tied for 19th at Sandwich two years ago, and tied sixth at St Andrews last year. Harman has also three top-ten finishes at the Players on his CV, so while this may be only his third win on the PGA Tour, the 36-year-old from Savannah, Georgia hasn’t sprung out of nowhere. A worthy name to go alongside the likes of Jones, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Roberto De Vicenzo, Peter Thomson and Walter Hagen on the Hoylake roll of honour.
Harman deserves this. He’s been by some distance the best golfer this week, from tee to green, but especially on them. An immaculate display of chipping and putting, nearly always in control. On the two occasions he threatened to wobble – early yesterday, and early today – he regrouped and made some big birdies, then, having settled down, gliding home. He’s been the boss of Hoylake, and the boss of the entire field. A stunning performance!
Brian Harman wins the 2023 Open!
Brian Harman rolls in the par putt, and Hoylake finally lets the diminutive Georgian into its heart! A huge ovation as Harman whips off his hat and allows an excited grin to play across his face. He’s the champion golfer of 2023!
-13: Harman
-7: Kim, Straka, Day, Rahm
Updated
Brian Harman lays up, then sends his third into a greenside bunker. Nothing to worry about. Cameron Young arrows his approach straight at the pin, at which point the gallery begins to give Brian Harmon the ovation he so richly deserves. Hoylake may have been quiet for much of his round, but he gets the warmest round of applause as he makes his walk up the last. Perhaps not the roar that would have greeted Rory or Tommy, admittedly, but that’s showbiz … and to be fair there’s a proper holler when he whips out of the sand to eight feet. Cameron Young rolls in his birdie putt for a 73, and it’s over to the champion elect …
Jon Rahm pours in his birdie putt! He grins broadly. He deserves a share of second for everything he’s brought to this championship this week, not least yesterday’s 63, which is the new Open record on this track. A 70, and he’s -7. Viktor Hovland rolls one in from 20 feet as well. A third birdie on the back nine, a fine response to a thoroughly disappointing front nine of 40. A 73, and he’s -3.
Brian Harman wriggles and a-jiggles, then creams his last drive of the week straight down the middle. He’s been outrageously dependable today. All week. He might not have delivered too many thrills for a Hoylake gallery pulling for other stars, but this is how to win a major championship all right. Simply exceptional and thoroughly deserved. Cameron Young, who has had no answer in the face of Harman’s relentlessness, splits the fairway too. Up the hole, Jon Rahm sends his ball into the heart of the green, and he’ll have a 25-foot look at a birdie that would give him a share of second place with Tom Kim, Sepp Straka and Jason Day.
Two putts for Brian Harman for his par at 17. So close now. As good as done, even with that OB running up the right side of 18. Cameron Young pulls his short birdie putt wide left, and not for the first time today looks utterly furious with himself. It’s not been his day, and he remains at -4. Meanwhile up on 18, Jason Day makes par for his second 69 of the weekend, securing a share of second place at -7.
-13: Harman (17)
-7: Kim (F), Straka (17), Day (F)
-6: Grillo (F), McIlroy (F), Rahm (17)
Brian Harman is two from home. He’ll have to go some to balls this up now. He’s not going to balls it up, though. He gently caresses a wedge into the heart of 17 to 15 feet. Cameron Young then nearly slam-dunks an ace. All very nice now it doesn’t really matter.
Brian Harman makes yet another no-nonsense par, this time at 16. He’s getting a little bit more love from the gallery now, the punters making their peace with the lack of drama, and now appreciating the relentless brilliance of the champion-elect. Meanwhile over on 17, par for Jon Rahm, and up on 18, Sepp Straka ends with bogey, while a disappointed Tommy Fleetwood nevertheless gives his fans something to shout about by walking in a ten-foot birdie putt. He ends a week that promised more at -4.
-13: Harman (16)
-7: Kim (F), Straka (F), Day (17)
-6: Grillo (F), McIlroy (F), Rahm (17)
-5: Sharma (F)
-4: Homa (F), Jordan (F), Fleetwood (F), Young (16)
Shubhankar Sharma is this close to making his second birdie of the day at 18. But the ball refuses to fall, and it’s a 70 to end the week. A top-ten finish and a guarantee of a return next year at Troon, a late birthday present after he turned 27 on Friday. Meanwhile it’s been a magnificent week as well for Open debutant Alex Fitzpatrick, who signs for a final round of 73. He ends the week at -2 … four strokes better than his US Open-winning brother Matt, who shot a 75 today and finishes at +2.
There’s no stopping Brian Harman. He plays the par-five 15th as calmly as possible in the circumstances. Down the middle, on in regulation, a ten-foot putt poured into the centre of the cup. He’s five clear with four to play.
-13: Harman (15)
-8: Straka (17)
-7: Kim (F), Day (16)
-6: Grillo (F), McIlroy (F), Rahm (15)
Tom Kim shoots 67
A sorry end to Tommy Fleetwood’s bid for glory. He sends his tee shot at 17 flying over the green and into the dunes at the back. His backswing blocked by a bush, he’s forced to chip sideways into space, then doesn’t give his third enough. The ball snags on the bank and this is a proper sickener for Southport’s finest. He bumps his fourth to eight feet, but can’t make the putt and ends up with a triple-bogey six. Meanwhile up on 18, par to finish for Tom Kim, who has hobbled around today on a sore ankle and, when it all comes down, will be pleased with his 68. He’s the new clubhouse leader at -7.
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The end to the week that Hoylake member Matthew Jordan deserves! Birdie at the last, and the player who took the first shot on Thursday morning signs for a 70. He finishes his home Open at -4 and smiles warmly as the crowd erupts. He’s been under the microscope all week, having been a member at the club since he was seven, and despite not having a wealth of experience to draw from, has performed fantastically. It could be the confidence boost the unassuming 27-year-old needs to take his career up a notch. Here’s hoping.
If this isn’t already over, it’s getting very close now. Brian Harman drains a 40-footer across 14 for a bounce-back birdie. A quiet fist pump accompanied by a fair few yelps of delight from the gallery. Mind you, he’s still only (!) four in the lead, because Sepp Straka fires his second at 16 from 200 yards to six feet, then rolls in the putt.
-12: Harman (14)
-8: Straka (16)
-7: Kim (17), Day (15)
-6: Grillo (F), McIlroy (F), Fleetwood (16), Rahm (14)
Jason Day makes his birdie on the par-five 15th … but only just. His 12-foot putt circles the lip before finally deciding to drop. He holds his hand over his mouth in comic shock but he’ll take anything right now. He moves to a share of second at -7. Meanwhile Brian Harman is on 14 in regulation.
Jon Rahm pays a heavy price for missing the green at 14. He chips weakly out of heavy rough, and can’t make the 25-foot par putt he leaves himself. He slips back to -6 and you’d have to think that only an Adam Scott style capitulation will deny Brian Harman now.
There are two new clubhouse leaders in the shape of Emiliano Grillo and Rory McIlroy. Both par the last, both sign for 68s. They’re -6. Rory’s search for major number five will tick into a second decade. Meanwhile back on 17, Tom Kim looks for all the world to have drained his 15-foot birdie putt, but it stubbornly stays out, and he remains at -7.
Updated
Harman clips a lovely chip up the bank at 13, the ball rolling five feet past … but he decelerates through his putt coming back, and it dies off to the left. Bogey out of nowhere, and that’s a little chink of light for the chasing pack. Not that Sepp Straka is able to take advantage, only making par on the par-five 15th. And another makeable birdie putt goes by the wayside for his playing partner Tommy Fleetwood.
-11: Harman (13)
-7: Kim (16), Straka (15), Rahm (13)
Brian Harman pulls his tee shot at the par-three 13th down the swale to the right of the green. He ends up in the first cut of rough. Not ideal, but it could have been a whole lot worse. Cameron Young responds by firing a dart straight at the flag. A good chance for birdie from 15 feet coming up.
After a quiet period, Jon Rahm finally makes a move. He pings his tee shot at 13 to four feet, then, ignoring the rain droplets falling bleakly from the peak of his cap, rolls in the birdie putt. A careful two-putt par for the leader back on 12, and here we are.
-12: Harman (12)
-7: Kim (15), Straka (14), Rahm (13)
-6: Grillo (17), McIlroy (17), Fleetwood (14), Day (13)
It’s too late for Rory, but he rolls in a 15-footer on 17 for birdie anyway. He’s back to -6 and marches off to the 18th tee with purpose and the air of a man who just wants to pop the clubs in the boot of the car and wheelspin away.
The chasing pack need to apply some scoreboard pressure on Brian Harman and quick. Tommy Fleetwood arrows his second at 14 to six feet, but then pushes the straight putt wide right. He remains at -6. But Tom Kim wedges his third at 15 to five feet, and tidies up for a birdie that moves him into a share of second spot.
-12: Harman (11)
-7: Kim (15), Straka (14)
Another hole, another fuss-free par for Brian Harman, who is strolling towards his first major championship. Also at 11, par for Cameron Young. Up on 18, Jordan Spieth finishes his week with a smile and a 73; he’s level par. Max Homa signs for a 69 and he’s the new clubhouse leader at -4. And after a Faldoesque run of 13 straight pars, Shubhankar Sharma birdies 14 to join the group at -5.
-12: Harman (11)
-7: Straka (13)
-6: Grillo (14), Fleetwood (13), Day (13), Rahm (11)
-5: McIlroy (16), Sharma (14), Young (11)
-4: Homa (F), Jordan (15), Rozner (13)
“AW [word redacted by Guardian swearies editor] OFF!” Rory McIlroy runs super-hot as his ball lands pin high at 16 only to take a weird roll left and disappear down a bank. A proper Ulster fry. His putt back up is no good, and he starts swinging his putter around in a very cavalier fashion. He is fuming as another major passes him by. But he ends up walking off with a wry smile after his par putt somehow horseshoes out. Not sure how that stayed up. He’s -5.
A lesser-heard Hoylake roar breaks out on 18, where the ever-popular Rickie Fowler rakes in a long birdie putt to end his week at level par. I wonder how different the 2014 runner-up’s week would have been had he not hoicked two shots out of bounds on this hole on Thursday, when -2 for the championship? He never recovered from that triple-bogey eight. Oh Rickie, the 2023 Open hardly knew ye.
Brian Harman nearly drains his birdie putt on 10 from 30 feet. He continues mooching around Hoylake without breaking sweat. Meanwhile Cameron Young briefly considers smashing the hosel of his wedge deep into the ground, after seriously underhitting a chip in. He thinks better of it, then rolls in the eight-footer he leaves himself to remain -5.
Cameron Young, coming off bogey at 9, comes up a club short at 10. He looks half annoyed, half defeated. The atmosphere can’t help. It’s wet, and the Hoylake gallery is in a collective funk. This leaden pall, all right.
Jason Day looks to make it three birdies in four holes, sending his approach at 11 from 130 yards to eight feet. But he drags the putt wide left and remains at -6. Meanwhile on 13, Tom Kim shaves the side of the hole from 35 feet. Brian Harman finds the lengthy par-four 10th in regulation. The rain continues to tumble down.
Brian Harman very nearly drains another birdie putt, this time on 9. He taps in for par. A smattering of applause. The atmosphere is so low key as to be a tad embarrassing. You can’t blame Harman, who is doing what he has to do, and doing it brilliantly right now. He’s in the business of closing out this tournament with ruthless efficiency. Having said that, he’s only just hitting the turn … so welcome to the start of the 151st Open Championship.
Make that just (!) five, as Sepp Straka rolls in a 12-footer on 11 for bounce-back birdie. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy and Emiliano Grillo take turns to make 15-footers on 14. Otherwise Hoylake is flat, flat, flat. People are making their own entertainment as Joe Pearson illustrates: “The NBC crew has been counting Harman’s waggles. He’s got a Sergio level waggle game. Took a dozen before his second at 8!”
-12: Harman (8)
-7: Straka (11)
-6: Grillo (14), McIlroy (14), Kim (12), Fleetwood (11), Day (10), Rahm (9), Young (8)
Par for Brian Harman on 8. Bogey for Jon Rahm at 9, punishment for an errant tee shot. Suddenly the lead is six.
-12: Harman (8)
-6: Kim (12), Fleetwood (10), Straka (10), Day (9), Rahm (9), Young (8)
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The outgoing champion Cameron Smith walks up the last and receives the ovation he deserves. He didn’t have his St Andrews stuff this week, ending it with par, a round of 73, and an overall total of +1. But he made one hell of an eagle here on Friday to make sure of making the cut, and he’ll always be the man who won the 150th staging of this famous old championship. He’ll be back.
Here’s a roar, though … and you’ll have noticed Jason Day in the group at -6. Well, he joined it by chipping in from the side of 9 for birdie! It’s getting late in the day, so if somebody’s going to take a tilt at Harman, they’ll have to start running at him soon. And fast. As it is, the leader is able to play percentage golf down 8, where he finds the heart of the green in two. No need to attack the flag. Nice and safe and sound.
Brian Harman’s birdie was met with knowledgable applause. But the atmosphere slumped pretty quickly afterwards. Not a lot of noise around Hoylake at the minute. The crowd want drama. It doesn’t look as though they’re going to get any. A Jon Rahm birdie effort on 8 stays stubbornly on the left lip. Sepp Straka pulls a tiddler at 10 and slips back to -6. The gallery emits a resigned sigh.
What a putt, Brian Harman! Again! He rolls his 25-footer into the cup at 7, one of those that looked in the second it left the face of his putter. Just astonishing. He’s been doing this all week, and it’s why he’s five shots clear again. The rest of the field can’t do anything about this! Though they’ll try, goodness knows they’ll try, and Tom Kim flashes his second at 11 to ten feet and rolls in the birdie putt.
-12: Harman (7)
-7: Straka (9), Rahm (7)
-6: Kim (11), Fleetwood (9), Day (9), Young (7)
Rory teeters momentarily on the precipice. He doesn’t make the 12th green in regulation, and can only chip his third to 11 feet. He’s got to make the par putt if he’s to have any chance whatsoever. He confidently rattles it in. He wasn’t going to die wondering about that one, and remains at -5. Jason Day meanwhile returns to the same mark with birdie at 8. And Emiliano Grillo hasn’t quite given up the ghost either, with back-to-back birdies at 10 and 11. Though whether any of this is really worth the effort is a moot point, because Brian Harman, just as he did yesterday, appears to have relocated his mojo after a sticky start. He sends his second into the heart of the 7th and will have a 25-foot putt for back-to-back birdies.
Birdie for Max Homa at 14. That’s his third of the day on a blemish-free card. He’s -5. Meanwhile here’s some stat-based succour for those desirous of a Jon Rahm victory, courtesy of friend of the blog David Tindall, who takes time out from gadding around Hoylake with an overpriced beer in each hand to email this: “Rahm won the Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this year from seven back after 54 holes. Also, he was five adrift going into the final round of the 2019 Irish Open and won that by two.”
As soon as the door swings ajar, Brian Harman quietly closes it again. He calmly rolls in his birdie putt on 6, and what a reaction to dropping his second stroke of the afternoon. Cameron Young follows him in for birdie as well. But the chasing pack aren’t about to quit just yet, and up on 9, Sepp Straka pours one in from 25 feet for birdie and turns in 33.
-11: Harman (6)
-7: Straka (9), Rahm (6)
-6: Fleetwood (9), Young (6)
-5: Grillo (11), McIlroy (11), Kim (10)
The early clubhouse leader: the 2016 champion Henrik Stenson. He goes round in 69 today, and ends the week at -3. Whatever happens, this will be his best showing in a major since tying for ninth at the 2019 US Open. A good week for the veteran Swede.
Brian Harman and Cameron Young respond to those poor bogeys on the easiest hole on the course by setting up birdie putts at the par-three 6th. The former from 15 feet, the latter about seven. That’s a seriously impressive response by the pair. Meanwhile John McEnerney has been spending time on the BBC blog, but we won’t hold that against him: “Over on the Beeb’s live text, one Tweet has noted the crowds being a tad disrespectful to Harman and the Beeb has asked if the crowds should be more respectful. How far we must have fallen on this side of the pond to ask a question like that. My jaysus I’m shocked. I grew up watching Seve, Faldo, Langer etc. and followed those champions around Portmarnock and Royal Dublin during the Irish Open. The Americans who played in Europe in the summer couldn’t say enough about how amazing the fans were in Ireland and the UK.”
Brian Harman is a bit heavy handed with his chip into 5. His ball trundles eight feet past the hole … and he can’t make the one coming back. Bogey. Now then. Now then. Suddenly the gap is only three … and up on 7, Jon Rahm nearly drains a monster for a birdie that would really put the cat among the feathered things. It doesn’t quite drop, but this is on now. Whether Cameron Young will be in position to compete is another issue; he drops his second stroke of the day after failing to get out of a greenside bunker at 5. This final group are bringing each other down a bit. Harman and Young are both two over for their rounds.
-10: Harman (5)
-7: Rahm (6)
-6: Fleetwood (8), Straka (8)
-5: McIlroy (11), Kim (9), Young (5)
Tom Kim keeps on moving forward, as you’d expect a tank-engine aficionado to do. He creams a delicious tee shot at the long par-three 9th to three feet and makes birdie. He turns in 33, some going after a bogey-bogey start! Gotta love this guy. I hope someone’s told him local hero Ringo voiced his favourite childhood programme in the UK. He’s -5.
Brian Harman’s ball is in the bush, so he’s forced to take an unplayable. He takes his drop and creams a fairway wood between the bunkers guarding the front of the par-five green, ending just short of the dancefloor. Given the circumstances, that’s outrageously good. He bravely took on those bunkers, and could have run up a number had he found one of them. As it is, he’s got the chance to get up and down and out of Dodge with an unlikely par!
A 60-foot eagle effort for Jon Rahm, just off the front of the 5th green. It never looks like dropping, always a little too far out to the left, but the pace is almost perfect and he’s tidying up for his first birdie of the day. He’s now just four off the lead! Bogey for his playing partner Viktor Hovland, though, the result of finding a fairway bunker and having to chip out sideways. That’s his second dropped stroke already, and the Norwegian’s race is run. He’s -3. Meanwhile Sepp Straka can’t make his birdie putt on 7 … and Rory can’t get up and down from the swale to the side of 10, and he drops his first stroke of the day.
-11: Harman (4)
-7: Rahm (5)
-6: Fleetwood (7), Straka (7), Young (4)
-5: McIlroy (10), Day (6)
Uh-oh. Brian Harman sends his tee shot towards the Jon Rahm Gorse Collection … and it doesn’t look as though he’s been so lucky as the big Spaniard was minutes ago. A couple of stewards are circling one of the bushes while peering into it. That can’t be a good sign, can it? Meanwhile some bother for Rory too, at the monster par-four 10th. His second bounds down the slope to the right of the green, and he’ll have work to do to scramble par from there.
Harman doesn’t make the birdie putt, but he’ll be happy enough to have steadied the briefly listing ship with another par. A par for Cam Young as well. Meanwhile Jon Rahm takes advantage of his ludicrous stroke of luck at 5 – his ball is sitting up like a coconut in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by thick gorse – by knocking his second to the front edge of the green. And Sepp Straka sets up another birdie chance on 7 with a lovely iron from the best part of 200 yards to ten feet.
A smattering of polite applause as Brian Harman flings a dart at the pin on 4. He’ll have a look at birdie from 15 feet. Now if that goes in, hot on the heels of his par save at the last, he’ll be sending one heck of a message to the rest of the field. He threatened to collapse early on yesterday before quickly pulling himself together and breezing round. Could the same story be unfolding today?
Jon Rahm wangs his tee shot at 5 into a cluster of gorse bushes down the left. But he might have received the mother of all big breaks. He’s somehow fluked a lie in between them all! And breathe. Up on 9, Rory McIlroy shaves the hole with a birdie putt after creaming a tee shot to ten feet; he really needs everything to drop and the look on his face suggests he knows that all too well. He turns in 32 to remain at -6.
It’s fairly obvious that Brian Harman isn’t exactly feeling the love from the gallery. He’s not getting much by way of encouragement, though that putt was rewarded with appreciative applause. He once again finds the fairway from the tee to almost total silence. Nothing personal, I’m sure; it’s just that there are some beloved names in the chasing pack, and everyone is eager to witness a tussle rather than a procession. Hey, I don’t write the rules. That’s showbusiness.
What a putt, Brian Harman! He walks in his extremely missable par putt, and that’s some up and down from a very ugly greenside lie. He remains at -11 and that’ll give him succour after playing the last couple of holes in a very ropey manner.
Brian Harman pulls another approach wide right from the centre of the fairway. Once again he finds himself in some thick oomska to the side of the green. He does pretty well to chip out to ten feet, but the nerves will be jangling away now. Should he miss this one, the game will be on.
Sepp Straka very nearly drains an eagle putt on 5. He taps in for birdie and moves into a share of second with Rory McIlroy … and Tommy Fleetwood! The local hero walks in a 20-footer at 5, breaking a 25-hole streak without birdie! The crowd react as you’d imagine. Meanwhile another par for McIlroy, this time at 8. To borrow a phrase from Billy Liar’s favourite variety star Danny Boon, it’s all happening!
-11: Harman (2)
-6: McIlroy (8), Fleetwood (5), Straka (5), Rahm (3)
Another birdie for Alex Fitzpatrick! He makes it at the par-five 5th and returns to -5. A wee bit earlier, Matthew Jordan, a member at Hoylake for 20 years, took advantage of all his local knowledge with birdie at 5 himself. The spotlight has been on Jordan since taking the opening tee shot on Thursday morning, and he’s dealt with it superbly. He’s -4.
Trouble for Brian Harman at 2. He pulls his approach miles wide right, and is left with a gnarly lie in thick greenside rubbish. Wary of a flyer, he underhits his chip, and leaves himself a 20-footer for his par. Silence around the green as he deliberates over the putt. He doesn’t hit it and immediately walks after it to tap home. A careless bogey from the centre of the fairway. Par for Cameron Young. Meanwhile birdies at 7 and 9 for Max Homa and he turns in 33; he’s -4.
-11: Harman (2)
-6: McIlroy (7), Rahm (2), Young (2)
-5: Fleetwood (4), Straka (4), Rozner (3)
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Eagle for Tom Kim at 5! That’s the reward for two sensational shots at the par five, the fairway split, then a wood crashed from 250 yards to 12 feet. In goes the putt, and having started with a pair of bogeys, the ever-entertaining young Korean has just gone birdie-eagle to leap to -4. This guy’s sure to make the leap into the major-championship winner’s circle sooner rather than later, and you’ll get few more popular winners when he does so. Meanwhile par for McIlroy on 7, Rory having sprung a good lie thanks to the gallery down the right.
Rory gets up and down from the side of 6 with absolutely no fuss whatsoever. In fact he’s not too far away from holing his chip. Hoylake might have coptered off towards Wales had that dropped. But there’s some concern as his tee shot on 7 sails off towards the gallery down the right. Maybe he’ll get a break on some trodden-down grass. Meanwhile Sepp Straka rolls in a monster on 3 to cancel out his opening bogey; he’s back to -5.
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Brian Harman’s second shot of the day finds the heart of the green. He’s left with a 60-footer for birdie. He rolls his putt pin high, but a slight misread takes the ball four feet to the left. A little bit of work to do, but according to Nick Dougherty on Sky, he’s now 45 out of 45 for putts inside ten feet this week! That is outrageous. And his lead’s now six, because Cameron Young finds himself down the swale to the right of the green, underhits his chip, which fails to make it up the bank, and opens with bogey. With the exception of the first four holes yesterday, Harman has looked calm and assured all week. He continues to exude supercool.
-12: Harman (1)
-6: McIlroy (6), Rahm (1), Young (1)
Viktor Hovland can’t get up and down from the bottom of the bank to the right of the 1st. An opening bogey that moves him immediately in the wrong direction. He’s -4. Par for Rahmbo. But it’s a trifecta of birdies for Rory McIlroy, who makes his latest at the par-five 5th, and moves into a share of third. He’s not happy with his tee shot at 6, however, which he pulls wide left of the green. Big up and down attempt coming here.
-12: Harman
-7: Young
-6: McIlroy (5), Rahm (1)
-5: Fleetwood (2), Day (1), Rozner (1)
“This is game number 38. On the tee from the USA, Cameron Young.” The 26-year-old from New York state is bidding to become the first player to follow up a second-place finish with a win since Jack Nicklaus in 1978. He finds the first cut down the left. “On the tee from the USA, Brian Harman!” The leader peers after his tee shot with a look of concern on his face, but there’s really no need to worry. He doesn’t have the length to reach the fairway bunkers on the right and that’s a perfect start on the short stuff.
Rahm threads an iron between the bunkers at the front of the green. He’ll have a look at birdie from 25 feet. Hovland isn’t quite so fortunate despite arguably hitting a better shot: his approach lands 20 feet from the flag and looks good for a second, before toppling down the swale to the right of the green. Big up and down coming up. None of the chasing pack can afford to move backwards. No margin for error at all.
Here comes Jon Rahm! He follows up yesterday’s 63 by hoicking his opening tee shot into the thick rough down the left of 1. He hasn’t copped the worst lie, but a look of concern spreads across his face nonetheless. He’s going round with Viktor Hovland, who splits the fairway, and as a Norwegian will presumably have a more ambivalent view of the bleak weather than most.
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It’s not exactly breaking news, this, but things can go wrong very quickly in golf. Alex Fitzpatrick watches in disbelief as a simple par putt at 2 somehow horseshoes out. Not sure how that failed to drop. He’s back where he started at -4. Meanwhile the 30-year-old Austrian Sepp Straka was very much in contention last night, coming up 18 at -6. But he ended his round by failing to get up and down from sand, and has now opened his fourth round with bogey. All of a sudden he’s dropped back into the pack at -4.
Two birdies in a row for Rory McIlroy! He rolls his 14-footer at 4 into the middle of the cup and the Hoylake crowd roar and drift away in reverie. Thing is, the logical mind says no, but dreaming is free, so what else can you do? An opening par meanwhile for Tommy Fleetwood, who nearly holes out from sand with an exquisite long bunker shot. The crowd are four-square behind Tommy too, la. Is right.
-12: Harman
-7: Young
-6: Rahm
-5: McIlroy (4), A Fitzpatrick (1), Fleetwood (1), Hovland, Rozner, Day
Well that was good fun, and very much worth waiting for. Two huge birdie putts, in both senses. They’ve got the galleries going, the rain having previously – and understandably - dampened the collective enthusiasm a little. Rory’s followers are certainly on one now … and he responds by lashing his second at 4 pin high through the heavy rain. If the 14-footer he’s left himself goes in for another birdie, we’ll have ourselves a hoedown.
Now it’s Alex Fitzpatrick’s turn to drain a monster birdie putt! He rattles one in from 70 feet on 1. Only the second birdie of the day there, and the first big putt made on that green; Scottie Scheffler chipped in for his. The crowd go ballistic and Matt’s younger brother is on the march. What an Open debut this is! He’s -5. Rory’s birdie putt on 3 was a mere 50 feet, incidentally.
Ah, here comes Xander Schauffele to offer a little succour to the drenched field. Having opened with bogey, he’s since birdied 2, 4 and now 6 to make Sunday’s first impression on the leaderboard. And what’s this?! Rory McIlroy makes a putt from downtown at 3 to make his first move of the day. Things are beginning to happen, people!
-12: Harman
-7: Young
-6: Rahm
-5: Hovland, Rozner, Day, Straka, Fleetwood
-4: McIlroy (1), A Fitzpatrick, Sharma
-3: Schauffele (6), Grillo (2), Jordan (2), Detry (1)
Laurie Canter, Scottie Scheffler and Adrian Meronk apart, nobody’s making up much ground today. Scheffler and Meronk did most of their work when it was still dry, too. So catching Brian Harman is going to be some task. The chasing pack will most likely require the leader to stutter if they’re to have any chance of snatching the Claret Jug from under his nose … and it’s not as though nightmares can’t happen. Thriston Lawrence has carded the worst round of the day so far – a 79 – while Joost Luiten is well on the way to beating that. He’s nine over through 14 holes having played extremely well earlier in the week, shooting 71-72-71. Like we keep repeating (in lieu of meaningful action, to be fair): disaster can strike out of nowhere, form can fall off a cliff, and anything can happen.
Laurie Canter is going along nicely. Birdies at 4, 5 9 and 12, and the 30-year-old from Bath has jumped up the standings to -2. Canter played tennis to a high standard as a youth, and once faced Andy Murray across the net. I wonder if he’s questioning his life choices right now? Sir Andy gets to go back inside when the weather’s like this. Either that or they throw a roof over him. Poor Laurie has to trudge round in this squall. Ah well, a career-best finish at the Open is his for the taking – he’s currently tied for 16th and his previous high mark was a tie for 37th at Birkdale in 2017 – so it’ll be worth the soaking.
The Sky Sports commentator Ewen Murray has just described the skies above Hoylake as “leaden”. It has to be a hat tip, surely? Seeing we’re in their neck of the woods, it would be rude not to …
Rory McIlroy can’t make his birdie putt. Ah well, it was probably a pipe dream anyway. To be fair, there’s only been one birdie on this opening hole all day, and Scottie Scheffler needed to hole out from distance to make it. Rory’s -3.
The rain is really coming down now. The conditions very poor. Umbrellas up, waterproofs on. This isn’t going to stop Rory McIlroy giving it one last throw of the dice, though. He crashes his opening drive down the left-hand side of the fairway, then arrows a 4-iron straight at the pin. He’ll have a 15-foot uphill look at birdie. He needs the fastest of fast starts if he’s to have any sort of hope.
The largest final-round comebacks in major championship history. Just in case.
10 shots: Paul Lawrie (1999 Open)
8 shots: Jack Burke Jr. (1956 Masters)
7 shots: Arnold Palmer (1960 US Open); Gary Player (1978 Masters); John Mahaffey (1978 PGA); Justin Thomas (2022 PGA)
We’ve already touched on the fact that, should Brian Harman fall short today, he’ll become only the third player in Open history to fail to convert a five-shot 54-hole lead into victory. But should the worst happen, he’d also become only the second player to fail to convert a five-shot 36-hole lead. Gary Player (1974) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010) got that job done; Bobby Clampett (1982) infamously did not. Here’s how the Joy of Six told his story back in the day (when we clearly still hadn’t got over Tom Watson’s near miss in 2009).
Going into the 1982 Open, Bobby Clampett was a young lad going places quickly. At 22, he had only been a pro for a couple of years, but had already had a couple of significant entries on his CV: a top-25 finish at the Masters as an amateur, and a tie for third spot in the US Open that year. He was hot. And on the opening day of the Open at a windy Troon, he shot a calm, controlled 67 which he would describe as “phenomenal”. This paper’s Peter Dobereiner noted that “he was using the word in its literal sense of abnormality, but the common usage of extreme brilliance is just as appropriate”.
He set out for his second round at 7.40am, and many thought he had wrapped up the Championship in unprecedented haste by lunch on the Friday. He shot 66, going out in 32, before the highlight of his week, a three iron hit to three feet at 10, a hole on which only one birdie had been recorded the day before. At the halfway mark, he was 11 under par, five clear of the second-placed Nick Price, having taken only one more shot than Henry Cotton’s 36-hole championship record. “I am not thinking about winning,” he said on Friday evening. “It is going to be a mental challenge.”
Just as well he kept his counsel on lifting the Claret Jug, because he would fail his challenge dismally, suffering what Dobereiner referred to in the Observer as a “mechanical breakdown”. On what was then the longest hole in British golf, the 577-yard par-five 6th, Clampett drove into a bunker. He hit the lip with his second, and found another bunker. After splashing out on to the fairway, he hit a metal into thick rough, pitched into a third bunker, only just managed to dig the ball out and took two putts for a triple-bogey eight. He eventually signed for a third-round 78, although he was still one shot in the lead.
But he was gone mentally. On the final day, he went out in 40, his challenge over. He ended up carding 77, back in 10th place. It would be the last time the young man featured in a major championship. Tom Watson – who had won the US Open Clampett had just came third at – added the Open to his year’s haul. It was his fourth Open, putting him up there alongside Young Tom Morris, Bobby Locke, and Walter Hagen – before retaining the trophy to move alongside Peter Thomson. And then in 2009 he made it six when … ah but no he didn’t, Stewart Cink stealing the sun from our hearts.
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Scottie Scheffler signs off with 67
Scottie Scheffler was joint favourite with Rory McIlroy on Thursday morning. It never quite clicked for the world number one, who was slightly fortunate to survive the cut on Friday when his bunker shot at 18 hit the face and instead of dropping back to his feet, squeaked out and rolled to kick-in distance. But class will out, and he’s said his goodbyes to Royal Liverpool in style, ending the week with a stately 67. That’s equalled Adrian Meronk’s early best-of-day mark. He leaves on level par for the tournament.
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Adrian Meronk provides some much-needed encouragement for the chasing pack. The heavens provided the course with a good old drink last night, and they continue to do so. A soft course is a receptive course, and the 30-year-old Pole has taken advantage with a 67. He’s level par for the tournament. So that’s a promising sign for those hoping to make up some shots quickly on the leader. On the other hand, the weather’s only going to get worse, and as things stand, Meronk is one of just nine players to have made it into red figures today from a sample size currently standing at 56 players. The glass is either half empty or half full, it’s hard to make it out for sure.
Christo Lamprecht wins silver medal
One thing has already been decided: the winner of the silver medal for low amateur. That’s gone to the 22-year-old South African Christo Lamprecht, who finished his adventure with a 74 today. He’ll go back to his studies at Georgia Tech – the alma mater of the great Bobby Jones, who won the Open here at Hoylake in 1930 – where he intends to “get going on the college circuit”. As for his feelings at the end of a week that started with a 66 and a share of the 18-hole lead? “[Today] was a little bit disappointing, but obviously standing here being the last amateur standing and getting the silver medal this afternoon, yeah, it puts a smile back on my face!”
Here we go then, the final round of the 151st Open Championship. It’s Brian Harman’s to lose … but you’ve seen the way 17 and 18 are playing. Anything can happen. It won’t help that the weather is closing in. The umbrellas are already up at Hoylake, although the rain is light and spotty at the moment. The forecast has it overcast all afternoon with outbreaks of light or moderate rain, and a small chance of it getting heavier at times. As the day makes its inexorable trudge into the evening, the rain could come down more consistently, getting heavier all the time. Oh, and there’ll be variable gusts of up to 20 miles per hour at times. Enjoy, everyone. Should this go to a play-off it could get quite gnarly.
Preamble
Only two players in Open Championship history have failed to convert a five-shot 54-hole lead – such as the one Brian Harman holds at Royal Liverpool – into Claret Jug glory. Jean van de Velde’s 1999 caper we know all about: a bona-fide Open legend who did not bottle it but merely came a cropper while trying to seal the deal with a flourish, or, in his own words, “like d’Artagnan”, because otherwise what’s the point? The sort of approach to be encouraged, celebrated in fact, not mocked. The man’s a goddamn hero.
The travails of Macdonald Smith are less well established. Smith is recognised as one of major championship golf’s great nearly men, with 17 top-ten finishes at the Masters, US Open and Open, and a grand total of zero wins. He probably should have broken his duck in the 1925 Open at Prestwick, but going into the fourth round five clear, he had a meltdown in several bunkers and ended up with an 82. Jim Barnes strolled off with the prize instead. It probably didn’t help that over 20,000 had turned up to watch the action, most of them interested in Smith, and that the Guardian reported how, on an overcrowded course, “players had such narrow lanes to play along that some of them could not see the flags.” The super-popular Smith almost certainly suffered more from this fiasco than anyone else out there. This dude’s legacy needs looking after as well.
This paper also reported that another competitor, Charles Whitcombe, “retired in the morning after a disconcerting experience with two dogs on a tee. It is time Scotsmen realised that golf courses are not airing grounds for dogs, but it is probably too much to expect that they will themselves refrain from scampering over the links like sheep.”
But we’ve roamed well off piste. Here’s how the top of the leaderboard looked after 54 holes …
-12: Harman
-7: Young
-6: Rahm
-5: Hovland, Rozner, Day, Straka, Fleetwood
-4: A Fitzpatrick, Sharma
-3: Detry, Kim, Hojgaard, Jordan, McIlroy, Grillo
-2: M Fitzpatrick, Im, Langasque, Matsuyama, Homa, Spieth, Lee
… and this is what today’s tee sheet looked like as a result (all times BST, GB&I unless stated). It’s on! Hoylake ahoy!
07.45 Christo Lamprecht -a- (Rsa), Danny Willett
07.55 Zack Fischer (USA), Scott Stallings (USA)
08.05 Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Andrew Putnam (USA)
08.15 Padraig Harrington, Robert MacIntyre
08.25 Adrian Meronk (Pol), Adrian Otaegui (Spa)
08.35 Brandon Thompson, Gary Woodland (USA)
08.45 Brooks Koepka (USA), Scottie Scheffler (USA)
08.55 Thriston Lawrence (Rsa), Marcel Siem (Ger)
09.10 Kurt Kitayama (USA), Richie Ramsay
09.20 Victor Perez (Fra), Adam Scott (Aus)
09.30 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Matthew Southgate
09.40 Zach Johnson (USA), Hurly Long (Ger)
09.50 Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa), David Lingmerth (Swe)
10.00 Laurie Canter, Alexander Noren (Swe)
10.10 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Oliver Wilson
10.20 Joost Luiten (Ned), Thomas Pieters (Bel)
10.35 Rikuya Hoshino (Jpn), Jordan Smith
10.45 Ryan Fox (Nzl), Sami Valimaki (Fin)
10.55 J. T. Poston (USA), Brendon Todd (USA)
11.05 Guido Migliozzi (Ita), Michael Stewart
11.15 Stewart Cink (USA), Henrik Stenson (Swe)
11.25 Richard Bland, Wyndham Clark (USA)
11.35 Alexander Bjoerk (Swe), Byeong-Hun An (Kor)
11.45 Corey Conners (Can), Tyrrell Hatton
12.00 Patrick Reed (USA), Cameron Smith (Aus)
12.10 Patrick Cantlay (USA), Xander Schauffele (USA)
12.20 Rickie Fowler (USA), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
12.30 Max Homa (USA), Jordan Spieth (USA)
12.40 Romain Langasque (Fra), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
12.50 Matthew Fitzpatrick, Sung-Jae Im (Kor)
13.00 Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Rory McIlroy
13.10 Matthew Jordan, Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den)
13.25 Thomas Detry (Bel), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
13.35 Alex Fitzpatrick, Shubhankar Sharma (Ind)
13.45 Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka (Aut)
13.55 Jason Day (Aus), Antoine Rozner (Fra)
14.05 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Jon Rahm (Spa)
14.15 Brian Harman (USA), Cameron Young (USA)
