American Brian Harman Wins First Major At The Open

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HOYLAKE, England -- After American Brian Harman hit his opening tee shot of the final round of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Sunday, someone in the grandstands shouted, "Hit it in the bunkers!"

When Harman, who came into the round with a 5-stroke lead, pushed his approach shot right of the second green, there was an audible cheer from the gallery.

After Harman grabbed a 5-stroke lead with a 5-under 67 in the second round Friday, it seemed like all of Great Britain wanted anyone to win but him. He had turned England's Super Bowl into a first-half rout and never relinquished the lead.

Harman, the 26th-ranked player in the world, finished his surprising run at rain-drenched Royal Liverpool by carding a 1-under 70 in the final round Sunday to win the Claret Jug with a 72-hole total of 271, which was 6 shots better than South Korea's Tom Kim, Austria's Sepp Straka, Australia's Jason Day and Spain's Jon Rahm.

"It's fine," Harman said of the jeering. "Everybody has got their team they're rooting for. Yeah, I heard them, and if they wanted me to not play well they should have been really nice to me."

Harman's 6-stroke margin of victory matches the second largest in Open Championship history by golfers representing the United States; Tiger Woods won the Claret Jug with an 8-stroke margin at St. Andrews in Scotland in 2000.

Harman, 36, is the oldest first-time major champion since Spain's Sergio Garcia, 37, won the Masters in 2017. He collects $3 million for the win.