The final round of the Open Championship was completed Sunday afternoon at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England as Brian Harman won the Claret Jug for the first time in his career at 13-under par. He won the fourth and final major of the year by six shots, which is the largest margin of victory since Shane Lowry in 2019. Â
It was a challenging Sunday afternoon as the rain came down and the umbrellas were out, but that did not stop Harman from making the nostalgic walk up to the 18th green to claim the final major of the year.
Here are four takeaways from the final round of the 151st Open Championship
Brian Harman’s steady play leads to being in the winner’s circle
There have been times in the past when players have coughed up their leads. From Rickie Fowler at the U.S. Open last month or Brooks Koepka at the Masters a few months ago, Brian Harman did not want to join that list.
On Sunday, he made sure that if he was going to give a shot with a bogey, he was going to get that back. On the front nine, he bogeyed the par-4 second and par-5 fifth. However, he quickly rebounded with birdies on the par-3 sixth and the par-4 seventh.
He did the same with a birdie on the par-4 14th, which followed a bogey on the previous hole.
Then on the par-5 15th, he was able to add another stroke on the field with another birdie to get his lead back to five heading into the final three holes.
This is Harman’s first win on the PGA Tour since the Wells Fargo Championship during the 2016-17 season. What a way to claim a PGA Tour win in six years.
In addition to claiming the Claret Jug, Harman, 36, was named the Champion Golfer of the Year. He also received the Gold Medal and has his name in the next 24 Open Championship fields until he is 60 years old.
He also takes home $3 million and 600 FedEx Cup points, which vaults him up 12 spots to No. 6 in the standings with a few weeks left before the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin.
Related: Top 4 takeaways from the third round of the Open Championship
Tom Kim steadily rides himself to an Open Championship runner-up finish
At the U.S. Open last month, Tom Kim recorded an opening round in the 70s and the next rounds in the 60s. Kim did the same thing this week in his next major. Despite shooting an opening round 3-over 74, Kim responded with back-to-back 3-under 68s on Friday and Saturday.
Heading into the final round, Kim started with a couple of bogeys on the first two holes. However, he turned that around with a birdie on the par-4 fourth and an eagle on the par-5 fifth before a birdie on the par-3 nine to finish up his front nine.
Then on the back nine, Kim reeled off a couple of birdies on the par-4 11th and the par-5 15th, en route to a 4-under 67 in the final round, which was tied for the best score of the day, along with Adrian Meronk and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
As the raindrops continued to fall, Kim donned a backwards cap while fighting a tear in his ankle. But that competitive spirit did not stop him from finishing strong for his second consecutive top-10 finish at a major.
Joining Kim in second place was Sepp Straka, Jason Day, and Jon Rahm. Straka, who won the John Deere Classic two weeks ago, fired a final round 2-under 69 and almost held solo-second place honors but bogeyed the final hole. Day, who won the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, recorded his best finish at a major since he tied for fourth at the 2020 PGA Championship. It was also his first major runner-up since the 2016 PGA Championship.
Rahm, ranked No. 3 in the Official World Golf Ranking, recorded his 10th top-10 finish this season and came up just short of becoming the first player since Tiger Woods in 2005 to win the Masters and the Open Championship in the same year.
Rory McIlroy comes up just short again at the Open Championship
Last year, Rory McIlroy was a favorite at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews after being one of the faces during the PGA Tour and LV Golf dilemma. He finished third behind Cameron Young and Open Championship winner Cameron Smith.
This year, McIlroy was a favorite this year because of winning the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. It was a little too late for the Northern Ireland native as he hovered around par for the tournament going 71-70 through his first 36 holes and 69-68 through his final two rounds of play.
This is McIlroy’s ninth top-8 finish at a major in the last three years, including a couple of runner-up finishes at the 2022 Masters and last month’s U.S. Open.
It was also McIlroy’s seventh top-6 finish at an Open Championship as he recorded five birdies in his final round. Also in sixth place with McIlroy was Emiliano Grillo, who recorded a 5-under 66 and share part of the lead after the first round.
As a result, the top seven players on the leaderboard all represent different countries on five of the seven continents.
Also read: 10 best Open Championship performances
Christo Lamprecht is honored with the low amateur
Anytime a player is honored as the low amateur at a major championship, it signifies the possibility of a successful future in the game of golf.
For Christo Lamprecht, who was the first-round leader after 18 holes, was the only amateur to make the cut, en route to receiving low amateur honors and the silver medal.
Lamprecht, who is from South Africa, struggled the rest of the way after the first round, but embraced the journey of competing in his first start in a major championship.
Lamprecht, who is 22 years old and stands at 6-foot-8, joins an Open Championship low amateur list that includes 2013 low amateur and 2022 U.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick, four-time major winner Rory McIlroy in 2007, Justin Rose in 1998, Tiger Woods in 1996, Bobby Jones in the 1920s, and many others.