How Brian Harman is approaching sixth Masters after winning first major at The Open

Brian Harman has always been known for playing golf with a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

A three-time All-American during his stellar career at the University of Georgia, the Savannah native gained national prominence when he won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2003 as a rising junior at Savannah Christian.

His professional career was by all means successful entering last summer, as the 5-foot-7, 155-pound, 37-year-old left hander had wins in the 2014 John Deere Classic and the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. He has won more than $30 million in prize money but was looking for his Major breakthrough after a second-place finish in the 2017 U.S. Open.

Everything came together at Royal Liverpool last July as Harman blew away the field by six strokes to win the Open Championship with a dominant display of his shot-making skills combined with a stellar short game and cerebral approach. He is ready for his sixth appearance at Augusta National, looking to improve on his best Masters finish — a tie for 12th in 2021.

On Monday, Harman was in Augusta National's interview room for the first press conference of the 88th Masters Tournament with his confidence level at an all-time high.

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"I don't like thinking of it as like an arrival because I've always felt that way," Harman said of his win at the Open Championship. "I don't really like thinking of it that it's like a justification of all the hard work that I've done. It's just like this long process of a career, and that's obviously a highlight.

"But it happened. I'm really proud of it. But I live to feel those moments, that's like the drug for me. I want to get in contention in big golf tournaments. So my goal is to try and get to those uncomfortable places as many times as I can."

Harman, an avid outdoorsman, said he got to play Augusta National for the first time as a 14-year old as a guest of a friend who introduced him to duck hunting. He's in the middle of turkey hunting season right now and said he had a proud dad moment when he was with his 7-year-old daughter when she took her first bird a couple of weeks back.

"When you've got three kids at home, it's hard to prepare as well as you would want to. For me the preparation came last week at Valero. It's a hard golf course, really good preparation for this week," Harman said. "It's just hard for me to get into that same sort of competitive space. I need the pressure to know so I can test my game against that pressure. That's how I figure out what I need to work on going into a bigger golf tournament."

Harman said the experience at The Open could pay off as he plays in his next major.

"I feel as though I'm more prepared to handle whatever comes my way," Harman said. "Winning The Open and then the Ryder Cup, just these pressure-packed situations, and I've seen myself perform pretty well under that pressure. I may not execute under certain situations; I might just miss a golf shot, but I would like to think that the pressure wouldn't get to me quite as bad as it may have at some point."

Harman, who lives in St. Simons, said he hopes to get back to Savannah soon to see old friends and fans. He is looking to make his mark this week at a course that is special to him after breaking through to win The Open.

"It's something I'll remember forever. My game was really trending... I got to play the week before at the Scottish Open, had some really good feelings and getting used to the weather, and it just all timed up at the right time, which is really fortunate.

"I wanted to play last week, knock the rust off and be as ready as I can to try and contend this week," he said. "You definitely feel different when you walk onto this property as opposed to any others. Just the aura and the history and the beauty of this place makes you want to come back every year, and certainly makes you want to play well."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Brian Harman back at Master with newfound confidence as Open Champion