Open Championship 2023: Brian Harman demolishes field for unlikely victory

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Brian Harman is the Champion Golfer of the Year.

The 36-year-old earned his first major victory by winning The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool on Sunday with a score of -13.

Harman’s six-under 65 on Friday catapulted him to a huge lead that he wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the tournament. However, Saturday’s third-round didn’t start out all sunshine and rainbows (which there were none of on Sunday in England).

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Brian Harman celebrates after putting on the 14th green during the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 23, 2023, in Hoylake, England. (Warren Little/Getty Images)

Paired up with hometown hero Tommy Fleetwood for the third round, Harman led the Englishman by five strokes entering Saturday. However, that lead quickly shrunk to two as he clearly was feeling the wrath of Fleetwood’s home-field advantage.

But Harman dealt quite nicely with the pressure, shooting four-under on his final 13 holes, ending his day at -12 for the tournament and up five strokes.

Gray skies and rain filled the course on Sunday, but Harman was comfortable, as his lead never shrunk to less than four shots on the day. He was in full control of his own destiny, and wound up winning by six.

There were some low numbers throughout the final two rounds, and the race for second place got interesting, but no scores were low enough to catch up with Harman. 

Brian Harman walks down the green on the ninth hole during the Open on July 23, 2023, in Hoylake, England. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

The victory was Harman’s third on Tour, and his first since the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. He had not performed