Brian Harman Joins Elite Company Following Dominant Open Victory

The American joins the likes of Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer as the only Americans to win The Open by more than six strokes

Brian Harman holds the Claret Jug a loft
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Brian Harman put on a majestic display at The 151st Open Championship, with the American dominating from start to finish in difficult conditions.

Claiming a six-shot victory, the win was the largest in Open history since 2019, as Harman missed just one putt inside 10-foot and, in the process, joined an exclusive group of American golfers. Legends of the game if you will!

Becoming the fifth American to pick up the Claret Jug in 10 years, as well as the 31st in the event's history, Harman joined Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller and Tiger Woods as the only Americans to win The Open by six strokes or more.

His six shot win is still seven off Old Tom Morris's record victory margin of 13 strokes in 1862, but there's no denying that Harman is part of an exclusive group of legends of the game, with rounds of 67, 65, 69 and 70 giving him a 13-under tournament total.

Along with the margin of victory, the main standout was Harman's ability to bounce back when things didn't go his way. One example was that he made six bogeys in the whole tournament and, following those bogeys, he made four birdies on the very next hole. Another standout was the 36-year-old's putting...

On Thursday and Friday, the American produced 26 and 23 putts, with 29 and 30 coming on the weekend. Only Jason Day made less than Harman, and only by one, with Harman making 106 putts for the week. That's the fewest by an Open winner in the last 20 years.

The putter in question? Well, that is a TaylorMade model that was first released in 2016, with Harman's flat stick of choice being the TaylorMade Spider OS CB. The 'OS' stands for 'Oversized' and the 'CB' stands for 'Counter Balanced'. On the greens of Royal Liverpool, he dominated.

Matt Cradock
Staff Writer

Matt joined Golf Monthly in February 2021 covering weekend news, before also transitioning to equipment and testing. After freelancing for Golf Monthly and The PGA for 18 months, he was offered a full-time position at the company in October 2022 and continues to cover weekend news and social media, as well as help look after Golf Monthly’s many buyers’ guides and equipment reviews.

Taking up the game when he was just seven years of age, Matt made it into his county squad just a year later and continues to play the game at a high standard, with a handicap of around 2-4. To date, his best round came in 2016, where he shot a six-under-par 66 having been seven-under through nine holes. He currently plays at Witney Lakes in Oxfordshire and his favourite player is Rory McIlroy, despite nearly being struck by his second shot at the 17th during the 2015 BMW PGA Championship.

Matt’s current What’s In The Bag?

Driver: Honma TW747, 8.75°

Fairway Wood: TaylorMade Rocketballz Stage 2, 15°, 19°

Hybrid: Adams Super Hybrid, 22°

Irons: Mizuno MP54, 5-PW

Wedges: Cleveland 588 RTX 2.0 Tour Satin, 50°, 56°, 60°

Putter: Cleveland TFI 2135 Satin Cero

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x