Brian Harman made history at The 2023 Open Championship. Harman secured the first major victory of his career at Royal Liverpool by six strokes. After posting a 1-under 70 in the final round, Harman finished the tournament at 13-under 271. The third victory of his PGA Tour career has earned him $3 million and 600 all-important FedExCup points.
Thanks to a scorching hot putter, Brian Harman seized the lead from an impressive field and did not look back. The 36-year-old drained 58 of 59 putts from inside ten feet. By coupling his impressive putting with a steady final round, Harman managed to outlast Tom Kim, Sepp Straka, Jason Day and John Rahm. The foursome finished tied for second place at 7-under 277.
As a result of his impressive showing at The Open, Brian Harman has improved to No. 6 in the FedExCup rankings. The lefty has also improved two places in the Official World Golf Ranking, ending the week at No. 26.
The PGA Tour shared Harman’s life-changing moment on Twitter.
During the first round Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo and amateur Christo Lamprecht were able to take an early lead over the rest of the field. The trio recorded a 5-under 66 for a share of first place. Fleetwood kept the massive gallery on its toes after draining two 20+ foot putts. Rory McIlroy managed to minimize the damage of a less-than-desirable first round. The Irishman carded two birdies and a huge par save on the final hole to end the day at even par.
The second round was all about Brian Harman. Thanks to the work of his putter, the lefty sank four consecutive birdies to begin the round. While successfully avoiding a single bogey, Harman ended his round with an epic eagle on the eighteenth hole. With a world-class field trailing behind, Harman continued seeking the first major victory of his PGA Tour career.
Despite riding in the middle of the pack during the first two rounds, John Rahm fought back into contention. During the third round Rahm carded eight birdies and zero bogeys. This record-breaking performance saw him move into second place, just four strokes behind the leader. While suffering a grade-1 tear in his ankle, Tom Kim pushed through and managed to score 3-under 68 in the third round.
The putting display by Brian Harman continued on Sunday. Although he carded three bogeys during his final round, Harman managed four birdies to minimize the damage. Despite two gutsy performances in the final round by Tom Kim and Rory McIlroy, their efforts did not prevail. The duo fell to Harman by six and seven strokes respectively.
During the second round, Travis Smyth was able to exact his revenge on the same hole that he carded a double bogey on during the first round. While wielding his 9-iron, Smyth earned the only ace of the tournament on the dreadful par-3 17th hole. The memorable hole-in-one came after his ball bounced twice on the surface before dropping into the cup.
The next tournament on the PGA Tour is the 3M Open. This event will be hosted at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, MN and features a $7.8 million purse. The 2022 3M Open was won by Tony Finau who shot a 17-under 267.
Tony Finau was red-hot at the end of last year’s season. His 3-stroke triumph at the 3M Open marked the first of two consecutive PGA Tour victories. The following week, Finau went on to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic. These wins marked the third and fourth of the 33-year-old’s career.
Former world No. 1 Justin Thomas has entered the field for the 2023 3M Open. Despite being one of the most well-known golfers on tour, Thomas is in jeopardy of missing the playoffs for the first time in his career. His choice to enter the field for the 3M Open is largely based on his desire to compete in this year’s Ryder Cup. JT needs to accumulate as many points as he can as the regular season nears its conclusion.
The 3M Open will be available for streaming on Golf Channel.
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Featured image courtesy of The Open
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