Brian Harman eases to six-shot success in 151st Open at Royal Liverpool

It wasn’t exactly on the same level as Stewart Cink at Turnberry in 2009 because that, of course, involved fans’ favourite Tom Watson being denied a sixth success at the age of 59, but you get my gist.

Brian Harman celebrates after holing a long birdie putt on the 14th green in the final round of the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images.

No matter how well he’d played and, in particular, putted over the opening three rounds in the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool to take a five-shot lead into the closing circuit, there was no hiding the fact that precious few people were pulling for Brian Harman on a miserable wet day in Hoylake.

The vast majority turned up hoping that Jon Rahm could come up with more fireworks after propelling himself up the leaderboard with a sensational 63 - the best score here in the Claret Jug event - in Saturday’s penultimate round or either Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood or Viktor Hovland could conjure up something special on the last day.

Before heading out seven groups in front of him, McIlroy touched knuckles with Harman as they passed each other near the specially-erected Players’ Clubhouse then tried to do everything he could to make it a sweaty rather soggy affair for the American.

Jon Rahm gestures after teeing off in the penultimate group in the final round of the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images.

It looked as though that may have been the scenario as McIlroy, the winner here in 2014, reeled off three birdies in a row from the third, sparking his burst by rolling in a 48-footer, backing it up with one from 14 feet then getting up and down from 28 yards.

That raised the excitement level of the drookit fans for a bit, as did Rahm making the most of narrowly avoiding gorse trouble to birdie the long fifth. When Harman, who’d already dropped a shot at the second after missing the green with his approach, took 6 there in the group behind following a penalty drop from a bush, his cushion was suddenly down to just three shots.

It was a case of deja vu, though. As had happened on Saturday when it seemed the door had been opened for the chasing pack, it was quickly slammed shut by Harman. He holed a 14-footer for birdie at the sixth then backed it up by converting one from 24 feet at the next for another gain. His overall game had been impressive from the off, but this was one of the most impressive putting displays in not only this event but across all four majors.

They say a major doesn’t start until the back nine on the final day. If the leader had been removed from the equation, a thrilling finish would, indeed, have been on the cards. At one point, Rahm, Tom Kim and Sepp Straka were all locked together on seven-under, one shot ahead of McIlroy, Fleetwood, Jason Day and Emiliano Grillo. But they were all fighting a losing battle.

2014 winner Rory McIlroy reacts to a missed putt on the the 18th green in the final round at Royal Liverpool. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images.

Harman had finished runner-up to Brooks Koepka after holding the lead going into the final day in the 2017 US Open at Erin Hills. That apart, he’d never really been on the radar in majors, though a tie for sixth in this event 12 months earlier at St Andrews was a sign that he’d got to grips with links golf after missing four successive cuts in this event from 2015-2019.

His Genesis Scottish Open warm up for this Claret Jug crack had also hinted that Harman could be a contender on the Wirral. He’d been in the mix after 54 holes at The Renaissance Club before closing with a 74. It would have been interesting to see how he’d have handled similar windy conditions in this event but the test was largely benign over the four days.

By that time, McIlroy had finished, signing off with a 68 for a six-under-par total to finish alongside Argentinean Emiliano Grillo, who signed for the same last-day score. That clubhouse target was never going to be good enough and it was the same when Korean Tom Kim, who finished third in last year’s Genesis Scottish Open, gave another great account of himself on a links course by closing with a 67 for seven-under.

After dropping a shot at the last for a 69, Austrian Sepp Straka joined Kim on that number, effectively securing his Ryder Cup spot in the process after he’d catapulted himself in contention again with a second PGA Tour triumph, as did former world No 1 Day after his 69 then Rahm after he enjoyed closing with a birdie for a 70.

Korean Tom Kim tees off on the 13th hole in the final round of the 151st Open. Picture: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images.

After a sore triple bogey-bogey finish, Fleetwood’s week ended disappointingly as the Southport man and Everton fan had to settle for a share of ninth spot. But, to the delight of the host club, Royal Liverpool member Matthew Jordan secured his spot in next year’s event at Royal Troon by claiming a top-ten position, as did India’s Shubhankar Sharma, who was suitably rewarded for a solid performance from start to finish by ending up eighth.

The week, though, belonged to Brian ‘The Butcher’ Harman. The man who loves hunting back home in Georgia found himself being hunted for two full days but, in truth, no-one really got close enough to stop him from joining Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013) as the only left-handers to pick up the Claret Jug.

In closing with a 70 for a 271 total, he won by six shots, matching Shane Lowry’s performance at Royal Portrush in 2019 but falling one short of Louis Oosthuizen’s winning margin at St Andrews in 2010.

There can be no denying that Harman deserves enormous credit because this was a classy effort, but here’s hoping the 152nd edition at Royal Troon in 12 months’ time offers a bit more in terms of excitement…and some better weather, too.