American Brian Harman has lived next to a golf course since he was two years old, and has been practicing golf since he was 10, after watching Tiger Wood score a hole-in-one and accidentally chatting with the current PGA Tour champion.
Harman throws a ball to celebrate winning the championship on the 18th green during the final round of The Open on July 23. Photo: AP
At the age of two, Harman moved with his parents to the Southbridge Golf Club in Savannah, Georgia. His father was a dentist and a football fan, while his mother was a chemist who loved athletics, especially running. During the first 10 years in Southbridge, Harman, despite his means, did not pay much attention to golf, mainly because he loved baseball.
Then Harman fell in love with golf, as if it were predestined. In 1997, Harman, then 10, was home sick from school. He turned on the TV to kill time, and saw Woods hole-in-one at the PGA Tour's Phoenix Open, with Steve Jones winning. "I said to myself, 'I'm going to try it out and see if I can do that,'" Harman told Golf Digest .
After the Phoenix Open ended, Harman started practicing golf. One day, he met Jones by chance and revealed his inspiration: "You may think I'm crazy, but I started this sport because I saw you win the cup. It must be the result of hard work." After hearing this, Jones encouraged little Harman with all his heart.
Harman started working from the lawn behind the house. When his mother found out, she told her husband: "Eric, come and see this." After observing a few shots, the father realized that his son had talent and created conditions for him to improve to the maximum. Harman was allowed to go to the practice field every day. The fee for each basket of practice balls was about 2 USD, so he brought 10 USD, combined with "stretching" to be able to study the technique as well as hit many, and for a long time. The field was also generous, sometimes giving away a few extra baskets.
Seeing Harman's diligence in training and also to reduce costs for the young talent, a training ground manager proactively met with the parents and offered a preferential fee - $200 for a year of unlimited playing time. Harman's family immediately agreed. Thanks to that, the boy quickly improved, quickly moving from the training ground to the big field and regularly playing tournaments.
In 2003, Harman won the national junior amateur championship. From then until 2008, he was a star on the University of Georgia golf team and at the national level.
Harman was born right-handed, but when playing baseball he "splits" - swinging the bat on the wrong side and throwing the ball on the right side. In golf, he also swings the bat on the wrong side and is naturally classified as a Lefty. This group, when swinging the bat, uses the right hand to guide the direction, while the left hand exerts the main force.
Harman tees off on the 14th hole during the final round of The Open on July 23. Photo: AP
Harman turned pro in 2009. Three years later, he joined the PGA Tour, where he has won 339 PGA Tour events, two cups, and earned a total of approximately $29 million in prize money as of The Open 2023. The tournament ended on July 23 with Harman, at the age of 36, winning the tournament. He set a winning mark of -13 but had an overwhelming advantage – six strokes over the runner-up position.
With that result, Harman took home three million USD and became the third representative of the Lefty world to win The Open, after Bob Charles in 1963 and Phil Mickelson in 2013.
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