The Open: Brian Harman cruises to stunning six-shot victory with Jon Rahm unable to produce final-round charge

Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy were unable to get within touch as the fearless American stood firm in the rain
REUTERS
Matt Verri23 July 2023

Brian Harman defied the rain, a star-studded chasing pack and the Hoylake crowd’s desire for some final-round drama to lift the Claret Jug with a sensational six-shot Open victory.

Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and home favourite Tommy Fleetwood were all willed on by those who had braved the grim conditions on Sunday at Royal Liverpool, but none were able to particularly raise the heart rate of Harman. The American eased to his first major title with a closing one-under-par round of 70, his lead always at least three across the final 18 holes.

Five shots was the advantage the 36-year-old held at the top of the leaderboard going into the weekend and that was a margin that remained as he left the course on Saturday night, Cameron Young his closest challenger and Rahm and Viktor Hovland among those slightly further back.

Two bogies in his first five holes on Sunday saw Harman stumble as the rain poured at Hoylake, and as McIlroy flew out of the blocks and Rahm remained within range, the Royal Liverpool crowd sensed this might not be the procession they had feared.

Harman responded with back-to-back birdies to reassert his control though, his putting as relentless as it had been all week. A dropped shot at the 13th did not derail him either, as two birdies followed once again and the American sat comfortably at 13-under-par.

That saw him six shots clear of the group in second heading to the 18th hole, where only internal out of bounds on the right stood between him and victory. Harman found the fairway and, although a third shot into a greenside bunker was not quite in his script, the stroll to the green was still a celebratory one.

The first sign of emotion came as he splashed out to to just over seven feet, making that putt for par and a fitting conclusion to what was a remarkable showing. Harman made 58 of 59 putts inside ten feet over the four days, his work on the greens the key to a third career win and his first for six years.

“I have thought about this my whole life and to be an Open champion is incredible,” Harman said.

“I doubled down on my process and I know it’s boring and it is not flashy. But, until hitting that last bunker shot, I have not thought about winning the tournament.”

Rahm was among those in a tie for second at seven-under-par after a birdie at the last, the Spaniard unable to replicate the Saturday heroics that saw him fly up the leaderboard with a stunning 63. He finished alongside Sepp Straka, Jason Day and Tom Kim, who played the final three rounds with a sprained ankle.

McIlroy was a shot further back in a tie for sixth, a return to the scene of his 2014 Open victory not enough to inspire an end to a major drought that will have stretched to a decade when he arrives at Augusta National for the Masters in April.

“This week if it weren’t for one guy I’d be right there,” McIlroy said. “I’m playing well, there’s nothing I can really say.

“Playing good, keep putting myself out there. At the end of the day when I look back on my career, am I going to remember my fifth-place finish at Hoylake in 2023? Probably not.”

One man who will remember his finish is Matthew Jordan, a member at Royal Liverpool since he was seven. He was handed the honour of hitting the opening tee shot on Thursday and secured a fairtayle finished on the 72nd hole, making a birdie that lifted him into the top ten and ensured he will be in the field at next year’s Open at Royal Troon.

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