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Defending champion Brian Harman believes the heckling he was subjected to during last year’s Open will prove to be “an anomaly”.
Harman received what he termed “unrepeatable” abuse during his victory at Royal Liverpool 12 months ago, but used it as motivation to claim his first major title in dominant fashion at Hoylake.
The left-hander revealed in his post-championship press conference that one incident in particular helped him get back on track following a slow start to the third round.
“After I made the second bogey a guy, when I was passing him, he said, ‘Harman, you don’t have the stones for this’,” Harman said.
“It helped snap me back into (thinking) ‘I’m good enough to do this. I’m going to do this. I’m going to go through my process, and the next shot is going to be good’.”
Asked if he expected similar issues during his title defence at Royal Troon, Harman said: “It doesn’t bother me. I’m ready to take whatever in my stride. I’m here to play the best golf that I possibly can. That’s my main focus.
“I’ve always loved the fans over here. I’ve spoken a bunch of times about how I find them the most knowledgeable fans of any that we play in front of.
“I kind of chalk last year up as more of an anomaly than anything else.”
Harman admitted he was sad to return the Claret Jug at the end of his year as Open champion, revealing that he had enjoyed some “unusually expensive wine” and some “unusually exceptional bourbon” out of what he called the “coolest trophy” in sport.
However, the world number 13 has certainly not ruled out the possibility of becoming the first player since Padraig Harrington in 2007-08 to win back-to-back Open titles.
“Anytime that you become a major champion it certainly elevates your status in the game, elevates the way that you’re perceived in the game,” Harman said, “I try to take all of that in my stride, but at the same time understand that the golf is the most important thing, and I’ve tried to improve my golf game and get it in a place where I can maybe contend in some more majors down the road.
“My stats this year have been really good. My ball striking has been as good as it’s ever been. The only thing I haven’t done well this year is I haven’t putted especially well. So I’m just kind of waiting for it all to line up correctly.
“You can work and work and work. You just never know when that work is going to pay off. You never know when the peak is coming, when you’re going to catch a little bit of momentum.
“I’ve worked really hard, and my game is in really good shape. I’m happy with what I’m going into this week.”
Harman earned the nickname “The Butcher of Hoylake” last year after he happily explained the story behind his unusual reaction to missing the cut in that year’s Masters, namely returning to his farm in Georgia and killing a pig and a turkey.
And it was on the same farm where it finally dawned on him what he had achieved in becoming the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013).
“I was at my farm, and it’s wintertime, and I’m riding my four-wheeler,” Harman explained. “I just kind of like had a moment where it’s just me, it’s cold, and I was so happy that I was there.
“It’s like, this is just really nice. It’s nice to be The Open champion and still be doing the same thing that I would have been doing otherwise.
“As golfers we spend so much time playing in front of people. I think a lot of us kind of crave going to a place where there’s no-one watching, there’s nothing. You’re just there. It’s somewhere to disappear and just really enjoy time.”
