Brian Harman is shooting higher: Former UGA player isn't relaxing after his first major title
St. Simons Island, Ga. — Brian Harman’s season was highlighted at Royal Liverpool with his six-shot victory in the British Open, the first major championship for the former University of Georgia player and St. Simons Island resident.
But the feisty left-hander has no plans to make that his career highlight. At the age of 36 Harman said he hasn’t lost any will to keep grinding to add more accomplishments to a resume that includes three PGA Tour victories, his first Ryder Cup appearance and more than $32 million in career earnings.
“I’m just going to keep working as hard as I can,” said the No. 9 player in the world during a news conference on Tuesday at the Sea Island Club, the site of this week’s RSM Classic.
British (Open) Invasion: Five past Open champions head field at RSM Classic
Harman, the highest-ranked player in this week’s field, hasn’t played since the Ryder Cup ended on Oct. 1 and hasn’t played in a stroke-play event on Tour since the Tour Championship. After this week, he won’t play again until the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii Jan. 4-7.
But Harman has been hitting the gym and staying busy on the hunting preserve he owns in rural Georgia, doing all manners of manual labor.
His only regret is that the Ryder Cup put a dent in his usual fall hunting schedule where he’d travel to the Rocky Mountains to hunt elk with a bow.
“With my place [the hunting preserve] I’m such a perfectionist,” Harman said. “I haven’t done much hunting. I’ve done a ton more like dig ditches and get the water to move the right way, keeping the place dry and keeping the grass mowed and trying to fix roads. I’ve almost gotten more pleasure out of all the preparation than I have the actual hunting part. My dad and brother have been doing all the hunting.”
Brian Harman cherishes his first Ryder Cup
But Harman didn’t mind the reason for not getting his annual trip to the Rockies. He said the Ryder Cup experience at Marco Simone in Rome, even with a U.S. loss, will be a priceless memory.
Harman went 2-2 in the matches and he and doubles partner Max Homa were the primary reasons the U.S. had hope going into Sunday’s singles. The two dusted off Shane Lawry and Sepp Straka 4 and 2 in foursomes and then beat Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Hojgaard 2 and 1 in fourballs.
Homa and Harman combined to go 5-3 in the Ryder Cup.
“My expectations for the Ryder Cup were exceeded as far as my experience was,” he said. “Especially teaming up with a guy like Max Homa, who’s so good at golf and so competitive … to watch him play so well … I felt like I had a front-row seat to [the] ultimate golfing performance. It’s not something you get to experience except as a team and just rooting for these guys … that aspect was one of the coolest.”
Harman, who often bares his emotions for all to see, said he wasn’t surprised at some of the extracurricular activities, such as Rory McIlroy’s dustup with Joe LaCava, the caddie for Patrick Cantlay.
“It didn’t catch me off-guard because I knew the way I felt, I knew how passionate I felt about it and the way that our team felt about it,” he said. “Those types of things are bound to happen ... it's like a powder keg. Everyone's on full tilt and you go through this emotional rollercoaster for matches and all you want to do is win a match, all you want to do is make that putt. It's just like one little thing can set anybody off.”
Will winning a major change Brian Harman?
Harman’s victory in the British Open may have taken golf experts by surprise, especially since his previous victory was six years before at the Wells Fargo Championship. He went from journeyman PGA Tour player to major champion in one magical week, a distinction he will hold for life.
But he said being the “Champion Golfer of the Year,” as the British winner is proclaimed every year at the trophy ceremony, hasn’t changed him or his approach to golf.
“There’s been a lot of obligations, which I'm happy to do,” he said of media and sponsor needs. “It's just my time management's had to get a little bit better. I've had to just compartmentalize and figure where I'm going to be at certain times and really trying to take advantage of what I'm doing at the current time. I don't see myself any differently.”
Brian Harman gave a thought to broadcasting
It was less than two months before the British Open that Harman was stuck in a bit of a slump. After tying for second in last year’s RSM Classic and finishing solo second in Mexico, Harman returned to the Tour and missed the cut in more than half of his first 15 starts of the 2023 calendar year, including the Masters and PGA.
After he missed the cut at The Memorial, Harman said he even started thinking of other career options, such as broadcasting.
His agent, Jeremy Elliott, quickly squelched the idea and told Harman his best option was going back to work on his game.
“He told me exactly what I needed to hear,” Harman said.
Harman took two weeks off and tied for 43rd at the U.S. Open. He then found another gear and tied for second at The Travelers, tied for ninth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, tied for 12th at the Scottish Open and then won at Royal Liverpool with opening rounds of 67-65.
Eric Cole played with Harman at the Scottish Open and saw good signs on a windy, chilly final round.
"There's not much to not like," Cole said about Harman's accuracy and doggedness. "He hits it straight and putts great and flights the ball really well. In the Scottish, the last round was really windy and he hit a bunch ofgreat low shots and just has a really good overall game."
Harman added a tie for fifth at the BMW Championship for his seventh top 10 of the season.
Brian Harman gives UGA QB Carson Beck high marks
Harman has also taken advantage of his recent break to see two Georgia football games in person, against Missouri, and last week against Ole Miss. Harman had a rave review for Mandarin High graduate Carson Beck, who has stepped right in for the two-time defending national champions and led them to a 10-0 record.
“It’s been really cool to watch his progression as he’s gotten more and more comfortable,” Harman said. “I watched him make some throws on Saturday … he’s locked in It’s his team, he’s the leader of that team, the total leader, which is what you want out of your quarterback.”
Career advice for Dawgs coach Kirby Smart
Harman said he’s played nine holes with Georgia coach Kirby Smart and said the intensity Smart brings to his job with the Bulldogs is evident on the golf course.
But Harman said he tried to counsel Smart about getting too frustrated with his golf game since a national championship football coach obviously can’t devote a lot of time to playing and practicing.
“He’s got an interesting golf swing,” Harman said. “By interesting, I mean not great. He's a lot of fun to play golf with. He's as passionate about that. He gets very frustrated that he's not better at golf. I'm like, well, ‘you don't spend near the time golfing that you do recruiting … you're a really good recruiter.’ But he loves it and I really enjoy getting to beat him.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bulldog mentality: Former UGA player Brian Harman isn't resting on Open win
