It was anything but easy, even though he made it look that way.
Brian Harman of Savannah, Georgia, shot 13-under-par to blow out the field and win his first golf major, The Open Championship, in Hoylake, England.
“I’m over the moon. It was a tough week. I’m glad I could stick in there and get it done,” he told ESPN.
Dubbed the “Butcher of Hoylake” or “Brian the Butcher” by some British media because of his hunting lifestyle, Harman fought off some jeers and negative comments directed his way from the pro-England gallery. In fact, he relied on what he learned from hunting over the years to help him get across the finish line.
“Yeah, the patience and the strategy for sure. When I go out turkey hunting, I can spend all day out there, and like I said, hunting is something else that I do that makes me lose track of time,” Harman told Golf Monthly. “We’ve been on some really cool elk hunts out in Colorado, really tough hunting, tons of elevation, and then after we harvest the animal, having to pack it out. You talk about six to eight hours packing this thing up and down these mountains.”
Harman’s Instagram page shows images of several successful elk bowhunting outings as well as deer, turkey and fishing adventures. It also shows him applying a prescribed burn to enhance wildlife habitat.
Expect to see a lot more of Harman in high-profile golf situations going forward. His victory is expected to practically secure him a position on the U.S. Ryder Cup team when the Americans face the Europeans this fall in Italy.
(Photo credit: Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation)