World No 2 Jon Rahm shares second place with Tom Kim, Sepp Straka and Jason Day; Rory McIlroy finishes tied-sixth and remains without a major victory since 2014; Brian Harman leads throughout a rainy final day to secure the biggest win of his career
Monday 24 July 2023 06:18, UK
Brian Harman ended his six-year winless run and secured a maiden major title after completing a dominant six-stroke victory at The 151st Open.
Harman took a five-shot lead into the final day at Royal Liverpool and remained at least three ahead throughout a convincing Sunday for the left-hander, where he mixed four birdies with three bogeys to card a one-under 70.
The American ended the week on 13 under to finish comfortably ahead of a four-way tie for second that contained Masters champion Jon Rahm, who made a final-hole birdie to finish runner-up alongside Tom Kim, Sepp Straka and former world No 1 Jason Day.
Rory McIlroy briefly got within four of the lead as he chased an elusive fifth major title and first since 2014, the same year he won The Open at this venue, only to finish tied-sixth after a three-under 68.
Harman immediately saw his lead increase to six when playing partner Cameron Young bogeyed the first, only for him to have to pitch out of thick rough on his way to a bogey at the second.
The overnight leader holed from eight feet to save par at the third but bogeyed the par-five fifth after finding a bush off the tee and having to take a penalty drop, seeing his lead briefly cut to three when Rahm birdied the fifth and Straka posted a front-nine 33 to also get to seven under.
Harman responded by birdieing the par-three next and rolling in from 25 feet at the seventh as he reached the turn in 35 and five clear, then started his back nine with a string of two-putt pars as nobody from the chasing pack made a serious late challenge.
The world No 26 failed to get up and down from off the green to save par at the 13th but recovered to drain a 40-footer at the 14th and take advantage of the par-five 15th to reclaim full control of the tournament, with his lead moving to six when Straka bogeyed his final hole.
Harman safely negotiated his next two holes to retain his six-shot cushion going to the par-five last, where he elected to lay up before sealing an impressive victory with an eight-foot par.
Kim, who has been playing with a grade one tear in his ankle, recovered from bogeying his opening two holes of the day to play the rest of his final-round 67 blemish-free and secure his career-best major finish.
The Korean was the first to seven under and joined by Straka, who held solo second until bogeying the last, while Day carded a two-under 69 and Rahm carded three birdies with two bogeys in a final-round 70.
McIlroy's slim hopes of overturning a nine-stroke deficit got off to a dream start with three birdies in his opening five holes, just as it had the previous day, with the 34-year-old continuing his consistent run of worldwide top-10 finishes.
Young started Sunday as Harman's closest challenger but never threatened his playing partner, ending the day eight back with Shubhankar Sharma, while home favourite Matthew Jordan secured a return to The Open in 2024 thanks to his top-10 finish.
Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa completed the trio on four under, while world No 1 Scottie Scheffler's share of 23rd - despite a four-under 67 - ended a run of seven consecutive top-five finishes and was his worst result of 2023.
The PGA Tour season continues with the 3M Open in Minneapolis, beginning on Thursday, while the next DP World Tour event is the ISPS Handa World Invitational - co-sanctioned with the LPGA Tour - in Northern Ireland from August 17-20.
Two women's majors remain on the 2023 calendar, the Evian Championship from Thursday and the AIG Women's Open from August 10-13, while the next men's major will be McIlroy's latest Grand Slam bid at The Masters in April.
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