By Frank Dalleres
Journeyman Brian Harman savoured a long-awaited first major title after completing a commanding victory in the Open Championship at a soggy Royal Liverpool.
The 36-year-old American, who had just two previous PGA Tour wins to his name, kept his cool to shoot a final round of 70 and beat his nearest challengers by six shots.
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood all threatened to make a charge but none was able to pose a sustained threat to Harman’s frontrunning on Sunday.
“Better late than never,” he joked. “I’ve thought about this my whole life. To be Open champion feels incredible. This golf course was a real test. It was set up so great even with the weather.”
Rahm was among four players to finish tied for second, along with former world No1 Jason Day, Korean Tom Kim and Austria’s Sepp Straka, with McIlroy a further shot back.
Harman had failed to convert a 54-hole lead into a major title at the 2017 US Open but never loosened his grip on the Claret Jug for long.
He quickly cancelled out two early bogeys before the turn and then responded to his solitary dropped shot on the back nine with two birdies to extend his advantage.
McIlroy fuelled hopes of a last-day charge in search of a fifth major with three early birdies but failed to build on that and signed for a 68.
Masters champion Rahm was looking to build on his sensational 63 on Saturday but was never better than one under par for his final round and finished with a 70.
Kim, 21, produced the joint lowest round of the day, a 67, to share second place, his best result at a major and a remarkable feat given he tore his ankle after the first round.
Fleetwood, from nearby Southport and willed on by the Hoylake crowd, saw putt after putt graze the hole on his way to a disappointing 72 that dropped him to four under and a share of 10th.
Last year’s runner-up Cameron Young also struggled to get going, carding a 74 to slip to six under and a tie for eighth with India’s Shubhankar Sharma.
