04 August 2023 , 13:30
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Open champion Brian Harman has admitted he was forced to kick a fan out of last month's event after being the victim of hecklers throughout his maiden major victory.
Harman cruised to a six-shot victory at Royal Liverpool to get his hands on the Claret Jug, but it was not all plain sailing for the American star. Throughout the week, Harman revealed he was subject to heckling from a small section of the Hoylake crowd.
Speaking after his third round, Harman admitted: "You know, I'd be lying if I didn't hear some things that weren't super nice today towards me. I hear them, but at the same time, I don't try to let that influence the decision I'm about to make."
Following his crowning on the Sunday, the PGA Tour star claimed the abuse from one fan even spurred him onto victory, as he put in an impressive performance in tough conditions. The majority of the support fell the way of local man Tommy Fleetwood, who found himself in second on moving day, behind Harman.
And this is when the American really began to feel the heat of the hecklers. He told GOLF’s Subpar Podcast: "It [heckling] turned on Saturday — it turned hard. It caught me off guard a little bit, but it didn’t affect my play, which I was really proud of. It felt like a real hostile away game in college football.
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Brian Harman won The Open last month (PA)“On the [football] field, you are a long way from it. When you walk three feet from someone [on the golf course] and they say something nasty, it’s intimate. It’s hard not to stop and turn around and get back after them.” Sunday's final round was no doubt the biggest 18 holes of Harman's life, but one spectator was clearly out to ruin this.
And this left the American with no other option but to call on the fan in question to be removed. "The guy followed me from like No. 6 to No. 10 Sunday," he added. "And literally like, every time over the ball he was like, ‘You are going to choke!'.
"Like, right as I was about to pull it back. And I’m standing over a three-footer for par on 10, and he starts getting after me again. It was my turn to play a shot, you can’t be quiet, you are out of here.” Proving his doubters wrong, Harman held his nerve and deservedly wrote his name into golf's history books.