Diminutive Harman strikes blow for the plodders
Ever since Titleist developed the Pro VI golf ball, the custodians of the game have been living a Faustian existence, allowing the golf ball to be hit ever greater distances whilst simultaneously trying to protect the great championship courses on which the game is played. These conflicting interests reached their nadir at the 2020 US Open played that year at Winged Foot’s West Course. The New York venue has a long association with the US Open having hosted it on five previous occasions and in 2020 the US Golf Association was keen that it match their desire to be fiendishly difficult i.e. narrow fairways, penal rough, lightning fast greens.
Unfortunately their preparation had failed to take account of one Bryson James Aldrich DeChambeau. Known as “The Scientist”, for his analytical approach, DeChambeau had devised a strategy, based on three main elements, to beat the course;
- Bulk up your body so that it resembles that of an American Football linebacker
- Launch the ball (bomb it) off the tee with such ferocity that it reaches the outer atmosphere before returning close to the green.
- Use your gap wedge to either pitch (if from the fairway) or gouge (if from the rough) the ball onto the green.
Over the ensuing four days, as DeChambeau bludgeoned Winged Foot into submission, the golfing world looked on with a mix of awe and disquiet. Was this really what the game was being reduced to? Nobody came close to matching his winning score of 6 under par and the following day, believing that this was the future, much of the golfing fraternity joined a gym. Meanwhile the golfing authorities began to assess how many of their championship golf courses would soon be redundant.
Not all panicked. At Augusta National they just bought more land allowing them to extend, the following year’s US Masters played with a greatly lengthened 13th and 18th holes. Yet somewhat ironically, having declared the course a par 67 - a comment which endeared him to few other than his mother - young Bryson finished tied 46th on five over par. So perhaps bomb and gouge was still a work in progress.
Since when the pros and cons of balancing ball distance with the courses on which the game is played continues to rumble on. And the games most polarising exponent has joined LIV and slimmed down. Scientist though he may be, DeChambeau soon discovered that swinging the club with outlandish ferocity did not sit well with career longevity. Troubled by injury his game has struggled to reach the heights of 2020.
As for the wider game, bar wins for the likes of Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Smith and perhaps Hideki Matsuyama it is the big hitters who continue to dominate the Majors. So one might have thought that a lengthened Royal Liverpool, this year’s venue for the Open Championship, would provide the perfect venue for their cohort. But as we now know that is not how it turned out.
At 5ft 7in in height Brian Harman, is one of the more diminutive golfers on the PGA tour. His record is respectable rather than stellar, the second of his two tour victories coming six years ago at the Wells Fargo Championship. He had played in only four previous Open’s missing the cut in three and finishing 26th in 2014. He was runner up in the 2017 US Open but other than that rarely features on the leader board in major championships. Arriving at Hoylake nobody gave him a chance.
But as we all now know he had four crucial gifts. Firstly, lack of distance off the tee. Whilst the bludgeoners were hitting the ball into the penal fairway bunker danger zones, Harman could go flat out knowing that he couldn’t reach them. Which saved him playing out sideways and squandering shots. Secondly, his ball flight is low, ideal for seaside links conditions. Thirdly he can putt. How Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood would love his putting stroke. And finally at 36 he has served his time. When in his third and fourth rounds he dropped early shots he didn’t let it get to him. He remained calm, believed in his game and showed a degree of steel not common amongst players vying for their first major championship.
Despite a chasing pack of stellar golfers and a home crowd and commentary team quietly hoping he might falter, not once was real hope offered. And the determined way in which he saved from the sand at the 18th spoke volumes about his performance.
The plodder had rightfully triumphed.
@Mark Brennand
This was not written by ChatGPT