Worth the wait

There was a point when Brian Harman wondered if he would ever taste victory again but the wait was certainly worth it after a stunning four days at Royal Liverpool on the way to winning The 151st Open.

Six years on from winning the Wells Fargo Championship, Harman has been one of the most consistent players on the circuit but just could not break through.

That all changed at Hoylake. Outstanding putting over four virtually error-free rounds saw the 36-year-old home by six strokes to lift the Claret Jug, reward for remarkable perseverance during that wait for a win.

“You know, I've always had a self-belief that I could do something like this,” he said.

“It's just when it takes so much time it's hard not to let your mind falter, like maybe I'm not winning again.

“I'm 36 years old. The game is getting younger. All these young guys coming out, hit it a mile, and they're all ready to win. Like when is it going to be my turn again.

“It's been hard to deal with. I think someone mentioned that I've had more top-10s than anyone since 2017, so that's a lot of times where you get done, you're like, dammit, man, I had that one; it just didn't happen for whatever reason.

“To come out and put a performance like that together, like start to finish, I just had a lot of control. I don't know why this week, but I'm very thankful that it was this week.”

And if Harman’s belief wavered, he revealed afterwards that there were others with even bigger doubts.

But a comment after two early bogeys on Saturday actually fired him up as he demonstrated his resilience.

“After I made the second bogey yesterday, a guy, when I was passing him, he said, ‘Harman, you don't have the stones for this’. That helped,” he joked.

Going into the final Sunday with a five-shot lead was a healthy buffer, but even so, the conditions at Royal Liverpool were getting worse and the pressure was ramping up.

Having traditionally struggled in the wet, it was a testament to his form this week that Harman was able to get the job done.

He added: “Yesterday was supposed to be terrible, and I got out and the weather turned and it was fantastic weather, all things considered.

“Then today I'm looking at the forecast, and I'm like, what the hell do they know, and I get out here and it's Armageddon. It was bad. It was really tough.

“I haven't historically done very well in the rain. It's just always bugged me. I was really proud of the way that I struck the ball in the rain today.”