Brian Harman was the surprise winner of The Open at Royal Liverpool, but the dominant manner of his victory was almost as unexpected.
The American didn’t just edge his maiden Major title but controlled proceedings throughout the weekend to claim victory by six shots despite battling appalling weather conditions over the last two days.
Harman opened up a five-shot lead going into the final round, but he had been reluctant to reveal the secret of his success at that point. After his third round, which included an excellent display of putting, NBC Sports’ Cara Banks asked Harman what had led to his putter running so hot. However, the 36-year-old was coy in his response, smiling before replying: “I can’t tell you.”
This is sneaky brilliant from Brian Harman. Don’t mess with the golf gods before the biggest round of your life. pic.twitter.com/A6FQp6yDpmJuly 22, 2023
Following his victory, though, he finally opened up on the remarkable performance on the greens, which included holing 58 of 59 putts from within 10 feet – and it all came down to a simple putting aid.
Harman explained: “Yeah, I found this – it’s a silly-looking mirror where it’s got like a little better release pattern. I was just kind of cutting my putts too much. I spent a lot of time just feeling the ball, almost hitting like a baby draw with my putter, and it’s been really, really good the last month or so.”
Harman then revealed that the device had been in his possession for some time before he finally decided to address putting issues that had affected him earlier in the year, with spectacular results.
He continued: “I picked it up on the putting green at some tournament over the years. There’s all sorts of trinkets and different things up until Wednesday, so I saw it, liked it. Hadn’t been putting very good this year until last month or so, but I found that in my barn at my house and it made sense, and I started putting well with it.”
Brian Harman’s putting was remarkably consistent throughout the 2023 Open
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Harman currently ranks 39th on the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained: Putting. However, with the putting mirror now presumably a permanent…
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