By Ed Travis
Lessons from Brian Harman’s OPEN Championship Victory
The R&A got it right. This year’s OPEN Championship contested at Royal Liverpool proved that when a complete range of golfing skills are tested those with the ability to keep the ball in play, hit reasonable scoring shots and are consistent with their medium range putting can and will win.
Journeyman PGA Tour player Brian Harman beat the field comprised of the best golfers in the world at the OPEN Championship by six shots. He made mistakes, but when he did, like when his tee shot on the 5th hole in the fourth round flew into a gorse bush, he limited the damage with smart play to post a bogey.
The four days saw changing weather conditions, warm, cold, wind and rain, plus windy, cool, and rainy all at the same time.
Harman’s driving distance was not spectacular, especially when compared with the big guns in the field like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau. He is 144th in driving distance on Tour at just over 293 yards but a credible 8th in accuracy, hitting more than two-thirds of the fairways.
Many analysts dismiss Harman as a “one-off,” who putted lights out for a week, the right week, and took home the Claret Jug. He was first in strokes gained putting by a sensational margin of almost 12 strokes, had zero three putts and missed only one putt under ten feet in the four rounds. His 106 putts were the fewest in the British Open in the past for 20 years when another journeyman Ben Curtis took his only major.
Those analysts are correct, but for the wrong reason. It wasn’t his putting that was superior to the field, it was his whole game. Keeping the ball in play, staying out of the penal bunkering, accepting the changing weather conditions and maintaining his focus throughout the entire 72 holes was key.
In short, he was gutsy, smart, and dominant. He did not overpower the course, just his opponents.
What isn’t being talked about is how golf’s ruling bodies, the USGA and the R&A, continue to insist the ball goes too far and must be reined in for the sake of golf’s future.
You’re familiar with the arguments for and against, but this same discussion has been going on with the same dire predictions for over a century and yet golf and golfers continue to enjoy the game.
The governing associations have proposed a Model Local Rule for elite players that when enacted will limit the distance balls can be hit.
Not everyone believes there is a problem that needs to be solved. PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan has said the Tour will not go along with the proposed Model Local Rule acknowledging it is not in the best interests of their players or fans.
The OPEN Championship held at Royal Liverpool last month demonstrated for the umpteenth time the single biggest factor controlling scoring is course set up. Rough that is actually rough, not just long fairway grass, strategically placed bunkering that can be in effect a one-shot penalty and greens with contours that cause offline approach shots to run away. These are the subtle factors that can drastically affect the scoring at a major event.
Set ups, such as The R&A attained at Royal Liverpool, place the emphasis on a complete game, plus the intelligence to manage yourself to success makes the perfect argument against any artificial attempt to restrict the performance of the equipment.
Something that has never worked in the past and never will in the future.
