THE LIFE OF BRIAN

The 151st Open wasn’t the most memorable Championship of all time and, in a way, neither was the Champion Golfer of the Year. The moment he was presented with the Claret Jug, and often during what turned out to be a calm cruise to his first major title by six shots, many fans were asking, “Who exactly is Brian Harman?”

In common with many members of his family, Brian is a top class scuba diver, a skill which no doubt made the soaking rain of The Open’s final day easier to handle. He’s also a fine spearfisher and bow hunter, so knows a thing or two about shooting straight in tough conditions, and plays golf left handed despite doing everything else the other way round. Given Hoylake’s iconic internal out of bounds all the way down the right of Championship holes 3 and 18, perhaps Fate played a hand in his choice, one which made him only the third leftie Champion Golfer alongside Bob Charles and Phil Mickelson. The second round 65 Brian scored had placed his hands on the Claret Jug and he didn’t let go. With a five shot lead on the eve of Soggy Sunday, anyone who had bet money on him to win with pre-Open odds as high as 125-1 must have been feeling pretty smug as they watched their man cope with heavy rain and pressure to finish with a 70 and a 13-under total of 271.

Brian has been on the PGA Tour for more than a decade and has two other wins under his belt - the 2014 John Deere Classic and 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. The same year he tied second at the US Open. Six years on he finished joint sixth at the 150th Open at St Andrews, which secured his place at Hoylake.

His amateur career was notable for victories at the US Junior Amateur in 2003, the Players Amateur in 2005, and picking up the prestigious Porter Cup a couple of years later. In ‘05 and ‘09 he was a member of the winning United States Walker Cup teams, his first appearance making him the youngest ever American to play for that great trophy. Not long after his second Walker, Brian turned professional, and to date his earnings exceed $25 million. 

Brian Harman was born in January 1987 in Savannah, Georgia, to parents Nancy, a chemist, and Eric, a dentist, neither of whom, it seems, were interested in golf. Their son went to the University of Georgia to study Finance and consolidated his position as a fine young player, becoming a three-time second team All-American on the university golf team, and winner of the 2005 NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Preview and the 2006 Isleworth Invitational.   

Having turned pro, 2010 saw Brian Harman for the most part on the eGolf Professional Tour where he finished in the top ten 11 times out of 14 starts. His first professional victory came at the Manor Classic where he won by three strokes. He also competed in three Nationwide Tour events that year, his best showing happening at the Stadion Athens Classic on his former college course at UGA. He tied 18th. Arguably he became most prominent in those early pro days when an unusual set of circumstances unfolded at the 2012 Players Championship. 

Brian was the first alternate when D. A. Points withdrew while standing on the first tee just minutes prior to his time. Playing partners Carl Pettersson and Robert Garrigus subsequently set off and, after talking things through with the PGA, tournament officials permitted Harman to play the first round solo. He shot a one over par 73 and revealed afterwards he has a sense of humour.  “I saw on twitter there was a ‘Free Brian Harman’ movement,” he said. “That was awesome. I thought it was hilarious.” 

Brian still lives in Georgia, on St. Simons Island, on the south-east coast and midway between Savannah and Jacksonville, with wife Kelly and their three children. He now owns a facility in the Rocky Mountains where he can indulge his passion for bow and arrow hunting, a pastime which aroused much press interest during last year’s Open. He likes to talk about the sport and what it involves, from shooting to skinning and beyond. “I do a lot of hunting and enjoy butchering,” he said. After day two The Daily Telegraph came up with the headline, ‘Brian the Butcher cuts through the Open field at Hoylake’. It’s not clear if this moniker has stuck, but Brian certainly went on to hunt down the Claret Jug.

In just four days a man who appeared to many to be a journeyman PGA pro emerged as a major champion, and no matter how commanding a lead he had opened up by the end of the second day, his ultimate victory can’t be underestimated, especially as the weather - and some in the crowd - became increasingly difficult, with one spectator suggesting Brian Harman simply didn’t have ‘the stones’ to win the title. 

Speaking to GOLF’s Subpar hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz, Brian said: “It turned on Saturday, it turned harder. It caught me off guard a little bit. It didn’t affect my play, which I was really proud of. But yeah, it felt like a really hostile away game in college football. But if you’re a football player, first of all you’re twice the size of anybody, also you’re on the field - you’re a long way away. But when you’re walking three feet from someone and they say something nasty, it’s intimate. It’s hard not to stop and just turn around and get back after them. But hey, it’s not everyone. I’m walking up the fairway and there’s many people just saying, ‘Listen, man, you’re playing great.’ ‘And I’m like, ‘Thanks!’ 

“I’ve always loved playing over there because the fans can be so knowledgeable. They appreciate good golf, they appreciate good golf shots. A lot of times - not to discredit American golf fans - but you’ll hit a 4 iron to 20 feet and they’re like, ‘It didn’t have any backspin so there’s no reason to clap for that one.’ And over there you can punch a 4 iron and run it up to 30 feet and they’ll build you a statue.” This year, Brian Harman will defend his Open title at Royal Troon. Royal Liverpool Golf Club wishes him all the very best.