Brian Harman is unstoppable in a drama-free British Open win at Hoylake

HOYLAKE, England — Brian Harman stood in the tunnel and looked out to the 18th green at Royal Liverpool with his eyes on that shiny claret jug, waiting for his name to be called with the century-old introduction as “champion golfer of the year.” He always imagined this was possible.

Maybe not in a steady rain, his least favorite weather, on Sunday at the British Open. Perhaps not before a British Open crowd that seemed to want anyone but Harman to win, including one fan who he heard say over the weekend, “Harman, you don’t have the stones for this.”

All that was sweet music to the little lefty with Georgia grit and something to prove, to himself and anyone watching.

And did he ever.

Harman delivered a performance so remarkable he hit into only three bunkers all week, led the last 51 holes of the British Open and never gave anyone a chance. He closed with a 1-under 70 and won by six shots.

“I’ve always had a self-belief that I could do something like this,” Harman 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. 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?

“To come out and put a performance like that together … I don’t know why this week, but I’m very thankful that it was this week.”

Harman turned back every challenge in the British Open, from big names to bad weather, and took his place among major champions Sunday with a victory that never was in doubt.

When his second bogey in the opening five holes reduced his lead to three, Harman answered with two straight birdies. When he dropped another shot on the 13th hole and his lead was down to four shots, Harman made two more birdies, the first one from 40 feet on No. 14.

By then, everyone else was playing for second.

“He won by six, so there’s nothing really any of us could have done,” said Masters champion Jon Rahm, one of four players who had to settle for the silver medal.

Harman, the great outdoorsman, made winning look as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.

He is the oldest first-time major winner since Sergio Garcia was 37 when he won the Masters in 2017. Garcia wasn’t a surprise. Not many would have imagined Harman’s name engraved on the claret jug at the start of the week.

Harman had gone 167 tournaments over six years since his last win, the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. This is only his third title in his 12 years on the PGA Tour.

“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, ‘Damn it, man, I had that one.’ It just didn’t happen for whatever reason,” he said.

Now he has the claret jug, and “I’m not going to let it out of my sight for the time being.”

“I’m going to have a couple of pints out of this here trophy, I believe,” Harman said.

Rahm birdied his last hole for a 70 to make it a four-way tie for second place with Tom Kim (67), Sepp Straka (69) and Jason Day (69).

That turned out to be the B-flight.

Harman took the lead on Friday morning with the second of four straight birdies early in the second round. He never trailed over the final 51 holes, leading by five shots after the second round and five shots after the third round.

He started the round in the rain with a smattering of boos from the grandstand, fans either wanting a big star or perhaps not paying attention to the masterclass performance Harman had delivered. Playing with Tommy Fleetwood of England on Saturday, Harman said he heard a few comments he described as unrepeatable.

He never wavered in rain or sunshine or wind over the final two days. And when it was over, Harman walked up toward the 18th green to a standing ovation, and tapped his hand to his heart to acknowledge the fans as he walked off the green.