Brian Harman won his first major championship today as he won the British Open by 6 strokes today over four players who tied for second at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Worrall England.
In winning the British Open, Harman emphasized that he was not focused on the thought of winning the British Open during his round.
“There were fleeting thoughts throughout the day, but I told myself I wasn’t going to let any of that come into my brain,” said Harman. “So any time it came (thought of winning), I just thought of something else. I really honestly didn’t think about winning until I had the ball on the green on 18.”
Harman Stays Focused on Present
In sports as in life it can often be difficult to stay in the moment and not think about the past or the future. Obviously, it is even more difficult to stay in the moment under pressure.
As Harman alluded to, staying present and in the moment, and overcoming adversity would be one of the important challenges he would have to overcome if he wanted to hoist the Claret jug.
Coming into the round Harman had a five stroke lead.
However, in very difficult, rainy and windy conditions, Harman bogeyed hole two and hole five, but then came back with birdies on holes six and seven to shoot even par on the front nine.
After the victory, in today’s press conference, Harman gave insight on how he was able to keep his mind focused during the week even if something did not go his way.
“After I made the second bogey yesterday (in the third round), a guy, when I was passing him, he said, ‘Harman, you don’t have the stones for this’,” said Harman. “Anyway, it helped snap me back into I’m good enough to do this. I’m going to do this. I’m going to go through my process, and the next shot is going to be good.”
Harman was then asked if the fan motivated him.
Harman was quick to downplay the influence of the fan, and specifically referred to the importance of understanding what he had control over.
In particular, Harman emphasized that the way he responded to the adversity during the round, such as the comments from the crowd, was ultimately going to be the key to whether or not he would be successful.
“I shouldn’t have given him (the fan) credit right there,” said Harman. “I figured at some point that I was going to hit bad shots. Just with the weather and the scenario, you’re going to hit bad shots. I knew that the way I responded to that would determine whether I’d be sitting here or not.”
As champions are known to do, Harman focused on the things he could control during his rounds such as his routine before each shot and how he responded to a bad shot. In addition, Harman emphasized that he was not thinking about winning during the final round.
On the back nine of the final round, Harman again overcame some adversity as he bogeyed the 13th hole.
But just like on the front side, Harman regrouped quickly after the bogey and then birdied the next two holes.
Harman completed the final round with pars on holes 16, 17 and 18 as he won the 151st British Open and took home the Claret Jug.
Finishing in a 4-way tie for second, 6 strokes behind Harman were Jason Day, Tom Kim, Jon Rahm, and Sepp Straka.
Emiliano Grillo and Rory McIlroy finished tied for third while Subhankar Sharma finished fourth at -8.
Stewart Cink, who finished in the top ten last week on the Champions Tour, finished the British Open tied for 23rd at even par for the tournament.
The PGA Tour will next host the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota from July 27 – July 30th.
In addition, the fifth and final major on the Champions Tour will also take place from July 27 – July 30th at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.
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