22 July 2023 , 16:56
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Brian Harman enjoyed a dream start to The Open at Royal Liverpool, holding a five-shot lead after 54 holes, and his coach believes two key factors have separated the 36-year-old from the rest of the field so far.
The American lefty followed an opening round of four-under-par with a sublime six-under-par 65 on Friday and a composed two-under on Saturday to lead by five at with just 18 holes remaining at Hoylake, and although he still faces a significant task to hold onto his lead over the final two round with Jon Ram and Cam Young lurking, he can be hugely satisfied by his work so far.
Short in stature, Harman is not blessed with power, but what he lacks in distance off the tee, he makes up for with craft and guile. But his head coach Justin Parsons believes there are inherent problems for left-handed players that his pupil has had to work hard to overcome.
Firstly, Parsons says, Harman has had problems with his alignment over the years, but the pair have worked incredibly hard to iron out the problems, dramatically improving his accuracy off the tee and with his approach shots – which has proved to be important considering the distance deficiency up against his peers.
"We really dived into consistent, daily alignment rituals," Parsons told Golf Digest. "Getting him aligned, working it into his routine, helped him hit a straighter shot shape because it allowed him to rotate correctly instead of relying on factors with more timing involved."
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Harman has been working with Parsons since 2019, picking up the reins from Jack Lamkin, who later died in 2022. The relationship is yet to deliver a win for Harman, whose last victory on the PGA Tour came at the Wells Fargo Championship in 2017.
Brian Harman was outstanding in the opening two rounds at Royal Liverpool. (Oisin Keniry/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)But the Georgia native has enjoyed a good run of form of late, finishing in the top 12 in his past three outings including a second-place finish at the Travelers Championship last month, losing out to Keegan Bradley by three shots at TPC River Highlands.
His game has always been underpinned by a first-class short game, with plenty of flair in his back pocket when he needs to dig himself out of trouble. But Parsons believes Harman's restraint, keeping things simple despite his skill, has been invaluable on the links this week.
"His capabilities are very advanced, but his application is something golfers at home should look at," Parsons added. "Choosing the correct shot, hitting whatever shot is required; he's very strong in that regard.
"He's got one of the best pairs of hands I've ever seen, but he's not afraid to putt it from 20 yards off the green."