Brian Harman was the surprise winner of The Open at Royal Liverpool, but the dominant manner of his victory was almost as unexpected.
The American didn’t just edge his maiden Major title but controlled proceedings throughout the weekend to claim victory by six shots despite battling appalling weather conditions over the last two days.
Harman opened up a five-shot lead going into the final round, but he had been reluctant to reveal the secret of his success at that point. After his third round, which included an excellent display of putting, NBC Sports’ Cara Banks asked Harman what had led to his putter running so hot. However, the 36-year-old was coy in his response, smiling before replying: “I can’t tell you.”
This is sneaky brilliant from Brian Harman. Don’t mess with the golf gods before the biggest round of your life. pic.twitter.com/A6FQp6yDpmJuly 22, 2023
Following his victory, though, he finally opened up on the remarkable performance on the greens, which included holing 58 of 59 putts from within 10 feet - and it all came down to a simple putting aid.
Harman explained: “Yeah, I found this - it's a silly-looking mirror where it's got like a little better release pattern. I was just kind of cutting my putts too much. I spent a lot of time just feeling the ball, almost hitting like a baby draw with my putter, and it's been really, really good the last month or so.”
Harman then revealed that the device had been in his possession for some time before he finally decided to address putting issues that had affected him earlier in the year, with spectacular results.
He continued: "I picked it up on the putting green at some tournament over the years. There's all sorts of trinkets and different things up until Wednesday, so I saw it, liked it. Hadn't been putting very good this year until last month or so, but I found that in my barn at my house and it made sense, and I started putting well with it.”
Harman currently ranks 39th on the PGA Tour’s Strokes Gained: Putting. However, with the putting mirror now presumably a permanent fixture in his practice routine as one of the best golf training aids, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him climb higher before the end of the season.
Aside from The Open, the American’s results have improved over the timeframe he confirmed he had been using the putting mirror, too. He finished T2 at the Travelers Championship in June and followed that up with a T9 a the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a T12 at the Genesis Scottish Open the week for the biggest victory of his career.
That recent run has also seen Harman climb to a career-high 10th in the world rankings.
