2023 Open Championship Thread

[Uncle Rico]

Back to back majors where complete nobody’s have won

General public nobodies.  Golf people knew Clark and Harman.  Clark got out of the PXG contract and has been golfing well.  Harman stood toe-to-toe with Prime DJ at the ‘17 Wells Fargo

[Herman Cain]

Harman came into the tournament in good form and 26 in OWGR. So he has taken excellent advantage of his opportunity.

[tower912]

Stayed out of bunkers.   Putted great.

[Uncle Rico]

Only bad news is, Harman might take JT’s spot in Rome and actually get some points

[Uncle Rico]

Harman’s dominance here will be forgotten like Kaymer’s at Pinehurst in 2014 but it’s a historical rout of the field.  Only one other player got to -8 this week.  Stunning performance

[tower912]

Well said.  Harman really won this on Friday with his 65.   For the week, hit the most fairways, putted the best, only in one bunker.

[Uncle Rico]

Well said.  Harman really won this on Friday with his 65.   For the week, hit the most fairways, putted the best, only in one bunker.

Tiger-esque

[tower912]

Ack!   Second bunker!

[tower912]

The Open can still be won by a short hitter.  Not sure about the other majors. 

[Herman Cain]

Harman Won in hard conditions which further amplifies his final round achievement

[Herman Cain]

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/british-open-2023-brian-harman-conquers-waggles-rain-royal-liverpool-to-capture-claret-jug?utm_medium=email&utm_source=072323&utm_campaign=hitlistbreakingwinner&utm_content=DM42338&uuid=85f898e378d547f4aa114b5572e1ddc5

[MU82]

Harman really won this on Friday with his 65.

Probably. And Rahm might have lost it Thursday with his 74.

[MuggsyB]

Muggsy jinx.

Or not.  And Harman is a much better player than he's gotten credit for over the years. 

[tower912]

He had a stellar amateur record.   He had two PGA tour wins and was ranked 26 in the world prior.  He had the notoriety he deserved.

[MuggsyB]

He had a stellar amateur record.   He had two PGA tour wins and was ranked 26 in the world prior.  He had the notoriety he deserved.

The guy is an excellent player and always has been.  Maybe in lieu of stating  The Open "can still be won by shorter hitters" we should  design golf courses differently and not simply reward guys who can hit it 350?  What I see on the scoreboard is a guy who just kicked tbe crap out of every bomber in the field. 

[tower912]

Indeed.   He hit his driver where Tiger hit his 2 iron, allowing him to miss the fairway bunkers.  I just hit a great article about how Harman being as accurate as he is allows him to hit driver when his  longer hitting brethren are hitting 3 woods or long irons/hybrids. 

I have generally thought of Harman as a left handed Kisner.   There are courses he cannot win on, but the payout for 10th is pretty good.

59 out of 60 inside 10 feet this week.    Practice that chipping and short putting.

[MuggsyB]

Indeed.   He hit his driver where Tiger hit his 2 iron, allowing him to miss the fairway bunkers.  I just hit a great article about how Harman being as accurate as he is allows him to hit driver when his  longer hitting brethren are hitting 3 woods or long irons/hybrids. 

I have generally thought of Harman as a left handed Kisner.   There are courses he cannot win on, but the payout for 10th is pretty good.

59 out of 60 inside 10 feet this week.    Practice that chipping and short putting.

59/60 is rather impressive.  I guess I need to work on my putting.   

As a side note it's pretty remarkable Rory will be at 10 yrs without a major.

[tower912]

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/2023-british-open-brian-harman-driving-strategy

[MuggsyB]

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/2023-british-open-brian-harman-driving-strategy

Great insight in this article. 

[RJax55]

Good on Brian Harman. Really thought he would give up his lead on Saturday.

Of all the Open venues, I find Royal Liverpool to be the most boring. Just have to wait two more years for Portrush again. Hoping that Open will have some drama on Sunday.

[MU82]

Three fun facts about Harman's win (from The Athletic daily newsletter):

++ Harman needed just 106 putts to finish the tournament, the fewest ever in Open history. Todd Hamilton held the previous record of 109 at the 2004 tournament. Harman didn’t miss a putt within five feet this weekend.

++ He said in his post-match press conference that after his second bogey on Saturday, which gave others some false hope, he escaped a funk thanks to a heckler who told him he didn’t “have the stones” to win. Nice job, bud.

++ Harman is just the fifth lefty to win a major. Phil Mickelson, Bob Charles, Mike Weir and Bubba Watson are the others.

[lawdog77]

Three fun facts about Harman's win (from The Athletic daily newsletter):

++ Harman is just the fifth lefty to win a major. Phil Mickelson, Bob Charles, Mike Weir and Bubba Watson are the others.

I find this stat interesting. Studies show approximately 10% of people are left handed. Wonder why this number is so small. 232 different people have won majors (out of the 466 majors).

[RJax55]

I find this stat interesting. Studies show approximately 10% of people are left handed. Wonder why this number is so small. 232 different people have won majors (out of the 466 majors).

Until the 1980s, most people were taught to play right-handed no matter their handedness. This had to do with golf club availability and the lack of left-handed options.

In the 80s, woods moved to being metal and many irons started being made via investment casting. Those manufacturing innovations brought initial costs down and made producing left-handed clubs financially viable for the equipment companies.

It is no surprise that of the five left handed major winners, 4 of the 5 are post-2000.