Brian Harman won the 2023 Open Championship.
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Just shy of a year after his success at Royal Liverpool, Brian Harman was in the car on his way to his farm in rural Georgia – where an excavator, feral hogs and fence construction awaited – when he called me. This interview first appeared in the July-August issue of GOLF magazine.
Dylan Dethier: When did you first know you were a golfer?
Brian Harman: I picked it up very quickly. I started when I was 11 years old. I played baseball and always had good hand-eye coordination. I don't remember exactly when I knew I was beautiful. I just remember when I discovered golf it was something I wanted to do.
DD: Who did you start playing with?
BH: There were older kids in the neighborhood who loved to play, and they were happy enough to be with me. We would all hit balls and play golf. My parents are athletic people but not really athletes. So my love for the game? I found that out myself a lot.
I was hooked when I started. The course I was going to play on was a hard walking course, with a long distance between holes. So I would go and hit the balls and really wait until I saw the threesome that was going to take off, and ask if I could play it to get a ride from the green to the tee. They didn't let me get a stroller until I was 15.
DD: You started out with a genuine love for the sport. Has that relationship been tested, and how has it changed?
BH: Yes, for sure. When I started, it was all I wanted to do. And then sometimes, especially early in my PGA Tour career, it was the last thing I wanted to do. Once it's a job, its components are like any other job. There are some negative aspects to it. And if you play the Tour long enough, you're going to struggle at some point.
But, as I got older, I started to find that golf is something I do that makes the time pass. Like, I enjoy the job. It's one of the few places where I can get lost in action. It's funny — everything most of us have ever done. We have dedicated our lives to it. As you get older, as you start to realize that you're behind, I think it starts to matter a little bit more to you.
DD: You went into last summer's Open at Hoylake with a couple of good results in a row. Did you feel that something special might happen that week?
BH: It didn't feel different. I immediately knew I was in a good place. I played very well in Scottish and I felt really comfortable. But, I mean, did I expect to win by six? No I did not. I try not to have any expectations going into a golf tournament. When I do, they don't seem to come out.
DD: Is there one scene that stands out from the week?
BH: I think the highlight was when I played 13 on Sunday. And look, a big deal was made about a few hecklers out there, when really I had tons of people rooting for me. But the people who opposed me, I could hear them cheering. Maybe the wheels would come off. Maybe they will get their happy ending. But on 14, I made a 30-footer and, I said, I felt like I was shaking inside. It was the curtains. That was good.
DD: Are you like a competitor? When you play a cash game at home, say, do you talk s—?
BH: I don't play big money games at home. Most of the work I do at home is actually a competition with myself. All s— talk is usually in my head. And I'll say the worst – in my head you've ever heard. But I usually don't tell other people, because, if you do, it's like a ticking time bomb. You have to eat those words eventually.
So I put it inside. And I believe in myself as much as possible, but any kind of external things that I can use to motivate myself, I really do.
DD: How has life changed since then? What is it like to be a great champion without being one?
BH: Yes, you stop at the store more often than before. [Laughs.] It's just that there are more obligations. For me, I've always been a pants guy. There is no set schedule. But I've had to be really organized with my time to be able to do everything I need to. So I think that's a change.
DD: I know satisfaction is hard to come by in golf, but does winning big and checking that box give you a sense of accomplishment?
BH: I think it gives you a sense of belonging. Now I know what I am capable of. That can go two ways. I hope it will help me to more success and not make my expectations crazy. But I'll try to save the showing until I finish golfing. As an athlete,
I don't think you can foresee when it will come to an end. But the game gets smaller, bigger and tougher, and, you know, I'm 5-foot-7, 160 pounds. I am 37 years old. I don't know how much time I have in the game, so I'm trying to catch every little bit that I know.
DD: What is your best day away from the game?
BH: Well, I have 20 full days away from golf. Like yesterday: I have a small 24 meter offshore boat, I put it in the water. With my whole family – my three children, my wife and I, our friends and their children – we went to a beach that can only be reached by boat. And we hung out there all day, saw some friends who had brought their boats – that's about as good as it gets. But then think about bugle elk hunting in September in the mountains of Colorado – that's a great day. Good turkey hunting on my farm – that's a great day. So it's hard to nail just one nail.
DD: Do you have any goals for the rest of the season? Throughout your career?
BH: Especially the competition with me. I want to see how well I can do. I want to see how many times I can get uncomfortably scared. I want to see how many more opportunities I can get in major golf tournaments, because that's what we play. Have a chance to win a major golf tournament — that's my medicine.
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