I think if Rory dominated like Brian Harman did many would be saying it was one of the best Opens in years. His name doesn't excite people because pro golf only focuses on a handful of golfers and he wasn't one of them.
I do think the name was a factor. Harman isn't a terribly compelling figure in terms of having a wild life story. He seems like a great guy to have a beer with and to live next door to, but I'm sure it was torture for NBC trying to dredge up enough content to fill the whole weekend. That said, any time you have a guy get up by 5 early and nobody challenges him, it's going to be pretty boring. I still remember watching Tiger on Saturday at Pebble in 2000 and aside from him dropping it in the bay on 18 and the producers scrambling for the five-second delay, it was boring. I don't know if we even bothered watching Sunday, because the result was all but assured. Blowouts just aren't all that fun in general.
So true, if Rory had done that the lads would be waxing lyrical about it saying how good it was. It’s just Harman is a unknown factor, like Rick said a bit of a Mike Weir
@@phillipemery572 I honestly don't get into the life story stuff. As a kid I loved the Olympics, but now it is more back story stuff than competition. Look at Charlie Woods. He is probably the most truly privileged person in the world as far as golf goes. I don't think golf broadcaster will be rooting for a kid who's parents had to sacrifice for years to pay for lessons.
This isn't new. They said Faldo was boring in 1987 with his 18 straight pars, in worse weather than those guys played in on Sunday. And you know what... Faldo had hit the ball less times at the end of four days than everyone else....... Winning by being dominant over four days is boring because we get used to it. We only find it exciting if there's a big charge from behind, but it's not Harman's fault no one could do it!
Brian Harman was definitely the best golfer over the 4 days! He kept the ball in play more than anyone else. Hit a lot of greens and sank a lot of long putts! If anyone thinks it was boring it was because no one else was really able to challenge him. Great Golf from Harman, well deserved win.
I thought similar at the start of the final round but then i realised it was an absolute masterclass from Brian, He had a plan, stuck to it and executed it brilliantly, you just had to watch it and enjoy some amazing golf shots, rest of the field just wasnt up to it over the weekend, cant believe this is even a talking point.
Huge respect for Harman. He was like a robot out there and barely put a foot wrong. I watched almost every minute of it, but I did find it a little dull and the amount of missed puts from the chasing pack was so frustrating. Deserved winner by far, but it is so much more interesting when the leader is seriously challenged.
The media coverage from Sky was atrocious to be honest. They made it sound like The Open was disappointing but the truth is it was amazing. Brian Harman put in one of the best Open performances of all time. Everyone should be celebrating and talking about how awesome his iron shots were and how he nailed course management? And his putting, absolutely outrageous!!! I'll be rooting for him in many more championships.
Feel the same. I almost felt like it was junior Tiger like plotting around the course with precision. I am blown away at the dismissal of the press, especially UK press.
@@stuboy13 More specifically, very Tiger Woods winning at Hoylake in 2007! Give or take a much dryer faster running course that let Tiger hit irons off most of the tees!
You nailed it on the head with it being about the storylines. Most televised sports is honestly just an unscripted drama tv show. I think even a lot of people subconsciously treat it as such, just from all the exposure people have to scripted shows and videos. With Brian Harman winning, its like the script writers just randomly introduced a character out of nowhere that we have no interest in who conveniently has god powers that takes over the whole story for this episode. If this was a scripted show, people would just say its crap writing, a terrible "episode", and just want to go back to their favorite characters. This dilemma is even more apparent when it is a "anyone could win" scenario because then there is no inherent "protagonist-antagonist conflict" to just "anybody" winning. There's no expected winner to overcome and there is no fairytale story of overcoming the odds. With Brian being an "extra" to the favorite players, there's no answer to the question of "why should I care". Now.... if Brian Harman goes on to keep winning and this was just his introduction episode.......
Harman wasn't my first choice to win, but he was near the top tier. He's my size (well, he's 30 to 40 lbs lighter, but still) and it's great to see a shorter guy, an underdog, win a major. He has had a career year (now #10 in the OWGR) and his accuracy was amazing to watch, especially in the bad conditions.
The only reason it was boring to the media and majority of golf fans is because Rory didn't win. Harman played the course just like everyone else but did it better.
Disagree. The weather was bad which meant no one was really going forwards or backwards in terms of score, and there was no drama all day. You knew Harman was going to win for 90% of that final round. If Harman one in a close head to head battle , obviously no one would be saying it was boring. I don’t know how you can say it was just cos rory didn’t win that people found it boring 😂
Exactly! They all played the course boringly if that's how you look at it. Everyone struggled to keep it in the fairway, but he was down the middle all the time. Great tournament from him.
@@rob_medlicott no one is saying anyone played the course boringly, they’re just saying the tournament wasn’t exciting to watch from a fans perspective. Nothing wrong with that. It just wasn’t
Exactly, because it's TIGER & RORY. Nobody likes watching a blowout unless it's their FAVORITE player, and while Brian Harmon seems like a nice guy, he's currently nobody's FAVORITE player
@@ramblinwreck24 Isn't it a bit typical of today that people don't actually seem to care about excellence, but rather get fixated on celebrities. It's a shallow world.
I used to go to the Open every year with my dad for quite a number of years, travelling all over the UK a season ticket was bought and we would attend from the Wednesday through the Sunday, lots of grandstands sat in and walked miles every year but a Sunday was straight to the 18th grandstand and watch every golfer finish their Open and watch the presentation to the Champion golfer of the year. Memories are all I have of my dad now and those Open ones are usually the 1st joyous ones that come to mind, I will start going with my boys when they are old enough to understand what The Open is and hopefully they will have memories that put a smile on their face when I am gone.
I’m very happy Harman won. Why can’t we just congratulate the best golfer? Why does it have to be some debate about this or that. Harman played excellent and he deserved to win. He also did it without debate. Lots of folks keep hoping that somehow Rory is going to be the face of golf. He’s not. There are other players. Stop thinking he’s going to be the next Tiger. Appreciate all of the players.
@@mistergarside Rory is a great golfer,...but NOT close to Tiger, in many ways-although that could be a good thing. Tiger made golf what it is today, and Rory is a Rich man because of it. Morally, Rory is too nice a guy, Tiger will eat you alive. Just my opinion.
The open showed how the American version of golf has changed people's perception of what golf actually is. This was a real show of golf from Harmon as opposed to the whack it as far as you can in the easiest weather imaginable version of boring golf served up by the pga tour week in week out
True dat! Hit it a million miles and so far up in the air it comes down with ice on it, so that it lands and stops... *yawn*. Proper golf learning how to land it, where to land it and what it'll do when it lands... that's interesting. Not Harmon's fault everyone else did a significantly worse job of that than him.
Dude it’s a different style of golf get outta here with the whole “purerer form of golf” bullshit. Harmon was amazing and no one could compete with him in the week
Tom Watson, legend. 2009 Open was one of the most amazing things I've seen. Almost 60 years old, over 25 years after his last major, Tom was an 8 foot putt away from winning. Heartbreaking to see him lose the playoff to Cink. But what a ride.
I was there and saw him hit that third shot from the back edge and I was desperate to shout "it's faster than you think from there" because everyone had hit it too far from that back edge all day! I swear come the end of the playoff only Stewart Cink and his caddy wanted Stewart Cink to win. Even Stewart Cink's WIFE wanted Tom to win! :)
Before social media we didn’t know players stories, Brian played smart and puttered beautifully. Great win for a player with the most top tens since 2017
My primary takeaway of the 2023 Open was: 1. Brian Harman played nearly perfect golf over 72 holes. 2. Brian Harman ruined the 2023 Open (made it completely boring) by playing nearly perfect golf. 3. Brian Harman was the coolest "cucumber" in ANY major tournament I've ever seen, hands down. It was like after every shot he made he went "Ho hum." I kept waiting to see him yawn on the course in between shots! Congrats to Brian Harman for a very well deserved win in the 2023 Open.
Not at all. Harman has more top 10s than just about anyone since 2017. Its crazy he hasn't got it done more often. Stand up guy. Was pulling for him since he grabbed the lead on Friday
Yeah , he's been within striking distance on alot of weekends . I'm surprised he's not got more wins under his belt ! I use him on DraftKings alot . His price will be going up now 😢 Lol
As a fellow 5’7 36yo from the southern US, very proud to see Brian win. Shorter hitter, his accuracy and putting prevailed. Was rooting for Fleetwood at the start, but realized I needed to be rooting for Harman. Totally agree with your guy’s analysis though, if Rory or Rahm had won with that score we would be praising them
If anything,the top players of the world were quite boring this past weekend. Harman wiped the floor with them. Fun to watch. New players New faces. Great Win.
Cause Rory is fun to watch, Harman just shots puts his head down and takes off his glove with his mouth, and does it all week, it’s just boring, people love Rory, Rahm , Hatton cause they got personality
@@omgHeadshotstake a listen to some of his post win interviews and you may change your tune on "he's boring" trope. He comes across as a thoughtful, interesting family man who embodies humility and perseverance. Qualities we hope are being passed on to the next generation, rather than some flashy whinger that talks of "hate.....LIV".
@@anthonygollan831Padraig Harrington said in a podcast if you actually listen to the interview Rory gave about LIV that time, he was really insightful and fair, but the media twists it into something it wasn’t and people like you fall for it without even knowing what was actually said
As a lefty, seeing Brian and Akshay win was brilliant to watch. With everything being about distance now, it was also great to see someone win playing 'traditional' golf.
No one ever called Tiger's runaway performance at the US Open in '00 boring. This wasn't either. It was a master class on how to make your peers look like clowns.
Yup. Sir nick and assinger were telling us before the round the Harmon could hold on, he isn’t good enough. It was like cnn or msnbc went into golf coverage. Disgusting 🤮
For years when Tiger dominated nobody called a tournament boring if he won by 12. Harmon wins by 6 and all these people are saying it was boring. He played the game better than anyone else over 4 days.....respect
So happy to see Brian win, I found it riveting, and highlights making courses longer favours the big hitters, make courses tighter is what's needed, and golfers of Brian's stature can shine.
Harman’s golf was steady and, as a result, he didn’t have to scramble. He hit excellent shots for virtually the entire final round so they weren’t from difficult lies. For some fans that came across as boring regardless of how dominating he was playing. Hats off to him and it will be interesting to see the fan reaction in Italy if he makes the Ryder Cup team.
No. Because if it was anyone different, they would've been praised for holding back their length and using strategy to their advantage. People are upset cause it was a guy their not used to seeing win. Great open, even better playing conditions! More majors need played in Europe!
Hi guys , what makes Brian Harmans win a bit special, was the fact most of the other players had better weather conditions but not the leading groups , so many past champions owe their wins to the luck of the draw and better weather conditions but Harman did it in the worst conditions and came out on top, so well done Brian a great champion.
Brian Harman's performance was of rare quality,to play with the lead in those conditions and to increase his lead was phenomenal...best performance in a major for a long long time...
Having had the same debate at the PGA this year about the best spectating strategy. In my opinion, the best strategy is the following: Find a morning group to follow through the whole course, then in the afternoon wave when they put 3 or 4 groups of big names in consecutive order, follow them through the front 9 skipping 3 or 4 holes at a time to stay in front of the crowd, and then when they make the turn, head for the 18th grandstand and watch everyone finish up.
I was in the grandstand at St Andrews 1995 when Rocca holed that put. The stand really shook. Was amazing to see Daly hold the claret jug. Amazing personality.
I don't know if it was boring. It was broadcast on NBC...and if you wanted to view on your computer it was subscription only or just the par threes. I fail to see how a sport can talk about "growing the game" and then fail to understand that subscription viewing lowers the interest. I will not pay to view something that is free on other channels. The 3M is on CBS this week...FREE streaming. LIV is always FREE streaming. NBC nope
You are validating the topic of the Thinking Mans shows last topic. The broadcasters want the stars to shine, which is not always possible with golf. I personally like the under dog coming through. Tommy Fleetwood would have been a great story, again the under dog coming to the front. I like watching good golf, even if it's not mine. On another subject, I am also a hunter/gatherer, living in Northern Maine we don't have to explain ourselves. What's your thoughts on the Thursday/Friday coverage of the Open omitting LIV Players; including last year's Champion?
Not a bit boring. If the rest if the field can't challenge, so be it. Also, if this was any of the top five in the world, people would be extolling how good they were, on the day. It was great to see a proper Open with good weather, bad weather and a deserving winner. ❤
@trystandavies2469 That's your opinion, but I watched, at home, all day Saturday and Sunday, and loved it. I truly believe that the conditions are what an Open is about, and without them, the modern golfers blitz them.
Harman did brilliantly, he got out in front by not hitting so hard and keeping it straight. Once he had the lead the others had to catch him and the harder they tried the worse it got from them!
I really enjoyed watching Harman at the Renaissance Club the previous weekend, in person. Saw him on the range and on a few holes and he looked a real good player. What a dominant performance to blow the field away and a great advert for what putting prowess can bring you. I can't be the only one who's had a putting lesson since the open? 😅
I think we were spoiled by Cam 's 30 on the back nine.the weather element did not allow that kind of exciting finish seeing Brian was 6 in front.anyway will be watching next year at Troon. Go Jason Day and the Aussies. PS what about Travis's hole in one on Friday.another Aussie talent. PSS watch out for Daniel Gale at 3m this weekend in US.
I think most fans of the sport (not personalities) appreciated it. It was quite a show from my perspective how he picked apart the course with strategic execution, and the guy doesn’t hit it as far as the Rorys of the world. It was reminiscent of how Tiger did with hitting irons only years back.
Honestly, I thought it was great. Harman played brilliantly at the US Open and I thought he'd be a great chance at The Open too, and then he won in an almost Tiger-esque fashion being miles clear of the field. If anything, the negative for me was how much the commentators kept harping on about how amazing Rory was when it was clear he had absolutely no chance and was never in contention.
Love you guys, some constructive criticism though: I wish I kept a count of the number of times I’m watching to the pod on UA-cam and hear “we’ll put it up on the screen” and see nothing. Not a big deal but either do it, or cut that bit from the pod. Seems like no one takes note of these comments, that TV on the wall would work fine too, just cast it there
This is what makes golf so great. It’s the ultimate outcome sport. Talk shows, podcast, social don’t get to define who is the best. Thanks UK hecklers for inspiring Harmon.
His stats in the open were great. Watching that was a joy, if no one else can keep up then so be it. If it was boring for those that backed players with money, who were not in the running then that this their tough luck.
On the Vegas Golden Knights, the thing expansion teams have over something like LIV is a *city*. If you live in Vegas you can instantly support the Golden Knights regardless of how old they are. But there's no connection to Smashers, etc. besides maybe having some players you like or some website BuzzFeed quiz picking a team for you.
To act like LIVs teams are a finished product is stupid. You also ignore the Stingers, Torque, Fireballs, Rippers, Ironheads and Majesticks have a clear fanbase they are attempting to cater to like any other sports franchise
First time at a professional golf tournament & all the way from South Africa & loved every minute (well besides the rain)! Was really keen to see Victor or Jon win but in the ends it’s golf & best man wins 🏆 & Brian dominated 👌🏻
Brian Harmon played the best by far over the tournament - lead all major categories - kudos to him. What made this Open so boring was the course and conditions. It didn’t play like a links course - it was like a traditional American course with all the trees removed. Every hole seemed the same and no holes stood out. There was no real danger out there. The highlight for me was Rahm’s 63 on Saturday - that was phenomenal.
I'd disagree. The danger is what frustrated and penalised the current crop of the best ballstrikers. Rahm and Rory in rough and bunkers after being too aggressive. Faldo was even criticising their course management. If they played the same types of courses for a month or so, I'm sure they'd all check the egos and aggression and play like tiger played in his open victories.
15th green grandstand. Watched the approaches in from the 2nd shot. Could watch the whole of the 4th hole and could watch the drives from the 16th. Got to see everyone hit every type of shot
I think it was a bit because Tommy, Rham et al, didn’t make a competition of it on Sunday, but the weather dampened the crowd at the end, you got the feeling they couldn’t wait to get out of the rain.
I went to the open and have been going (when I can get tickets now) for years and you CANNOT follow a group, it’s impossible, there’s too many crossing points you’d get stuck at. I tend to get behind a tee or get on a grandstand and stay for a couple of hours but, I 💯 go to watch the golf ⛳️
It wasn’t a great spectator course very flat with few vantage points. Also easy to lose your bearings there. Birkdale is much better for viewing as you can get up the dunes and see across multiple holes.
I’m a 21-year-old guy grew up watching golf I never got the hype around Rory. I’m American, so maybe that’s why but I never got why he’s so popular. I much more prefer watching the “villain golfers” brooks brycen Phil I obviously loved tiger but he’s not the villain style player, I’ll be glad to see them on the same place again because I think it makes a Golf a lot more fun to watch. I really think when we look back on it that Brooks is a much more prolific golfer than Rory is, but that’s just my opinion.
Great championship, great champion. A masterclass in how to play that course, in those conditions. Why were the others not following his lead and eliminating risk, by avoiding bunkers and the rough ? The addiction with long drives was the downfall for so many at Royal Liverpool
Major winners used to play end of year tournament in Kauai. It was great because very limited crowds and players relaxed. Only place ever got Tiger to sign ball.
It wasn't boring it was great play by Brian Harman. On the bright side i got to meet you both on the Monday practice day you made my week at Liverpool all the better
I follow both LIV and normal golf, and you commented about those that missed the cut. But the behind the scenes VLOG that Mia Baker did shows how the conditioned changed for players, and how much the weather can affect whether these great players can make the cut line. In LIV, all players at least tee off in the same conditions. What would you prefer?
Brians win proves that medium distance straight hitting is more important than 370 yards OOB or in thick rough. The courses have changed and are longer but good straight golf will always win the day. It was hilarious seeing so many top golfers crap themselves on 18 because of an OOB. lol . Something that many of us are used to seeing.
Thought it was a very entertaining Open. So many elites at the top trying their absolute best to catch Harm thru crazy weather and pressure. And Harm behind em all just playing his game and nobody else’s.
He played the Tiger playbook. He kept everything around 270-280 off the tee, and he stayed out of the Bunkers! He kept all his drives under the bunkers and just kept his approaches in the middle of the green and just simply 2 putt! He built an early lead and just made people come beat him, and made no mistakes! That was the Old Tiger game plan not only when he won there, but all the time!
Exactly what Tiger did in 07, except Tiger could do it with 3 irons off most the tees because it was so damn dry the ground roll took 1,000 yards off the course. It was a class display of high golf IQ by Harmon. People need to learn that "making it look easy" is REALLY hard!
Hi guys. I know you don’t like talking about the money side of professional golf but it was good to see even the players that didn’t make the cut got a share of the purse, which in my view was great for the players that had to go through pre qualifying.
Regarding LIV .... how many people who don't follow LIV could name which golfers are on which teams? I only recently came to know Majesticks but that's because they have a theme of the Brits with Poulter, Westwood, and Horsfield. I couldn't tell you what team Phil, Koepka, Sergio, Reed, Smith, DJ, Bryson, or Bubba play for.
Re: Liv team comment's, would your point of view on teams differ if you guys had a UK team (IE Ian's team) that was up there and winning? In having said that I'm from New Zealand. I really like the team aspect, to me it adds a lot more interest. cheers Guys
The 17th hole and Hoylake is the like 17th at Sawgrass. It’s contrived to try and force disaster. It doesn’t look like any of the holes or fit into Royal Liverpool’s design at all.
40:14 I’m not sure I fully agree that you won’t be watching a lot of golf. I went on the Friday and saw loads, and from many different perspectives. Sat in grandstands at 1st tee, 17th and 18th green and in a hidden gem of a grandstand behind 7th green/8th tee. Plus plenty of walking by fairways and watching shots. You can watch loads of golf-just need a bit of a plan and a willingness to put the steps in! If you want to follow a group, I definitely agree with Guy-follow a lesser known group otherwise you won’t see loads.
why was it Boring just because one the top 5 in world didnt win !!! think it was a great test with typical english weather and the best player over the 4 days Won
I would really like to see a tournament (preferably one with all the top players), in which no player on the card has ever played the course before and no practice rounds. Just show up on the first tee and go for it, like mortals have to do when playing sometimes. Let's see who the best really is. Would probably require a brand new course to be built but would be interesting to watch. Maybe a middle eastern sponsor could sort it?
I think the Open was a bit boring, but not because of Brian Harman. He put on a masterclass on how to play links golf. I believe it had more to do with the rest of the field being average at best outside of Rahm's 63. I know Liverpool is hard but watching tour pros shoot +10 really isn't as entertaining as watching golf UA-camrs do it.
They used to play the Grand Slam in Hawaii at the end of the season. They did not always get the 4 major winners to participate despite a very healthy purse plus appearance money. The Golden Crown would also disrupt the PGA Tour playoffs and participants might be barred for life ...lol.
5:59 The one this reminds me of is Stewart Cink 2009. Obviously that was more dramatic but similar in the sense that it was a solid PGA Tour American player that people knew but probably wouldn’t have predicted would win The Open.
No. It was extraordinary golf by Brian Harmen. I watched his round only on day 4, it was riveting, if you had the belief it is hard to maintain a lead on day 4 in dreary conditions, with basically the crowed rooting against you. I loved it. First Shiels show I clicked off on.....could see where it is going. Talking about everyone except the winner.
I’m glad someone asked the “damn” question. 😂 It’s been bothering/bugging/making me laugh for a while now. I wasn’t sure if it was just me and how I was hearing it or what.
It wasn't as exciting as if it were a neck and neck race down to the last hole, but to me it was still enjoyable to watch because Harman was playing some great golf. His ability to recover and hold steady after less than stellar starts on Saturday and Sunday was incredible.
I found Sunday dull, but that’s not Harmans fault, that’s the rest of the fields issue. Brian has shown that power isn’t the only way. It’s good to see once in a while.
We got to see the best golfers in the world compete on one of the toughest courses in the world. It was not any more or any less boring than normal golf coverage. Brian Harman played his ass off and seems to be a class act.
I've been watching the liv events alot, and I've really been enjoying the shotgun starts, why can't more events start like that so each round doesn't take all day to be completed
Indeed. You also get that extra bit of intrigue when they all have four to play, but for some of them that's four easy holes and for some of them it's four hard holes... It keeps it interesting, doesn't require you to watch 12 hours of golf if you want to see everything and also doesn't include more adverts than actual golf!
I think if Rory dominated like Brian Harman did many would be saying it was one of the best Opens in years. His name doesn't excite people because pro golf only focuses on a handful of golfers and he wasn't one of them.
I do think the name was a factor. Harman isn't a terribly compelling figure in terms of having a wild life story. He seems like a great guy to have a beer with and to live next door to, but I'm sure it was torture for NBC trying to dredge up enough content to fill the whole weekend.
That said, any time you have a guy get up by 5 early and nobody challenges him, it's going to be pretty boring. I still remember watching Tiger on Saturday at Pebble in 2000 and aside from him dropping it in the bay on 18 and the producers scrambling for the five-second delay, it was boring. I don't know if we even bothered watching Sunday, because the result was all but assured. Blowouts just aren't all that fun in general.
So true, if Rory had done that the lads would be waxing lyrical about it saying how good it was. It’s just Harman is a unknown factor, like Rick said a bit of a Mike Weir
Nah, Rory would have given everyone else an opportunity so it would have been more exciting for sure 😂
@@phillipemery572 I honestly don't get into the life story stuff. As a kid I loved the Olympics, but now it is more back story stuff than competition. Look at Charlie Woods. He is probably the most truly privileged person in the world as far as golf goes. I don't think golf broadcaster will be rooting for a kid who's parents had to sacrifice for years to pay for lessons.
This isn't new. They said Faldo was boring in 1987 with his 18 straight pars, in worse weather than those guys played in on Sunday. And you know what... Faldo had hit the ball less times at the end of four days than everyone else....... Winning by being dominant over four days is boring because we get used to it. We only find it exciting if there's a big charge from behind, but it's not Harman's fault no one could do it!
Brian Harman was definitely the best golfer over the 4 days! He kept the ball in play more than anyone else. Hit a lot of greens and sank a lot of long putts! If anyone thinks it was boring it was because no one else was really able to challenge him. Great Golf from Harman, well deserved win.
I thought similar at the start of the final round but then i realised it was an absolute masterclass from Brian, He had a plan, stuck to it and executed it brilliantly, you just had to watch it and enjoy some amazing golf shots, rest of the field just wasnt up to it over the weekend, cant believe this is even a talking point.
Huge respect for Harman. He was like a robot out there and barely put a foot wrong. I watched almost every minute of it, but I did find it a little dull and the amount of missed puts from the chasing pack was so frustrating. Deserved winner by far, but it is so much more interesting when the leader is seriously challenged.
The media coverage from Sky was atrocious to be honest. They made it sound like The Open was disappointing but the truth is it was amazing. Brian Harman put in one of the best Open performances of all time. Everyone should be celebrating and talking about how awesome his iron shots were and how he nailed course management? And his putting, absolutely outrageous!!! I'll be rooting for him in many more championships.
Totally agree, so happy to see him carry on and win, so refreshing to see a new winner, not one of the usual players, share the spoils 😉
Feel the same. I almost felt like it was junior Tiger like plotting around the course with precision. I am blown away at the dismissal of the press, especially UK press.
105 putts in 4 days! Outrageous.
Played the sensible shots, usually perfectly. Very Tiger woods
@@stuboy13 More specifically, very Tiger Woods winning at Hoylake in 2007! Give or take a much dryer faster running course that let Tiger hit irons off most of the tees!
If it was tiger or Rory winning by such, it would’ve been the best open ever. Screw these hypocrites
You nailed it on the head with it being about the storylines. Most televised sports is honestly just an unscripted drama tv show.
I think even a lot of people subconsciously treat it as such, just from all the exposure people have to scripted shows and videos.
With Brian Harman winning, its like the script writers just randomly introduced a character out of nowhere that we have no interest in who conveniently has god powers that takes over the whole story for this episode.
If this was a scripted show, people would just say its crap writing, a terrible "episode", and just want to go back to their favorite characters.
This dilemma is even more apparent when it is a "anyone could win" scenario because then there is no inherent "protagonist-antagonist conflict" to just "anybody" winning. There's no expected winner to overcome and there is no fairytale story of overcoming the odds. With Brian being an "extra" to the favorite players, there's no answer to the question of "why should I care".
Now.... if Brian Harman goes on to keep winning and this was just his introduction episode.......
Harman wasn't my first choice to win, but he was near the top tier. He's my size (well, he's 30 to 40 lbs lighter, but still) and it's great to see a shorter guy, an underdog, win a major. He has had a career year (now #10 in the OWGR) and his accuracy was amazing to watch, especially in the bad conditions.
The only reason it was boring to the media and majority of golf fans is because Rory didn't win. Harman played the course just like everyone else but did it better.
Disagree. The weather was bad which meant no one was really going forwards or backwards in terms of score, and there was no drama all day. You knew Harman was going to win for 90% of that final round. If Harman one in a close head to head battle , obviously no one would be saying it was boring. I don’t know how you can say it was just cos rory didn’t win that people found it boring 😂
RORY WASANT GOOD ENOUGH END OF
Exactly! They all played the course boringly if that's how you look at it. Everyone struggled to keep it in the fairway, but he was down the middle all the time. Great tournament from him.
Boring golf is often regarded as being good golf.
@@rob_medlicott no one is saying anyone played the course boringly, they’re just saying the tournament wasn’t exciting to watch from a fans perspective. Nothing wrong with that. It just wasn’t
Rick give a shout out on the podcast to your team being so good. Guy is a class act and does a really good job
No one would call it boring if tiger or rory won by 6 shots.
Exactly, because it's TIGER & RORY. Nobody likes watching a blowout unless it's their FAVORITE player, and while Brian Harmon seems like a nice guy, he's currently nobody's FAVORITE player
Yea Rahm should of won
Yep!
@@cristhebest223sI agree
@@ramblinwreck24 Isn't it a bit typical of today that people don't actually seem to care about excellence, but rather get fixated on celebrities. It's a shallow world.
I used to go to the Open every year with my dad for quite a number of years, travelling all over the UK a season ticket was bought and we would attend from the Wednesday through the Sunday, lots of grandstands sat in and walked miles every year but a Sunday was straight to the 18th grandstand and watch every golfer finish their Open and watch the presentation to the Champion golfer of the year. Memories are all I have of my dad now and those Open ones are usually the 1st joyous ones that come to mind, I will start going with my boys when they are old enough to understand what The Open is and hopefully they will have memories that put a smile on their face when I am gone.
I’m very happy Harman won. Why can’t we just congratulate the best golfer? Why does it have to be some debate about this or that. Harman played excellent and he deserved to win. He also did it without debate. Lots of folks keep hoping that somehow Rory is going to be the face of golf. He’s not. There are other players. Stop thinking he’s going to be the next Tiger. Appreciate all of the players.
@@mistergarside Rory is a great golfer,...but NOT close to Tiger, in many ways-although that could be a good thing. Tiger made golf what it is today, and Rory is a Rich man because of it. Morally, Rory is too nice a guy, Tiger will eat you alive. Just my opinion.
It's funny, any broadcast on the west side of the pond never even brings up the guys name. He's not fun to watch. Much more enjoyable players now days
The open showed how the American version of golf has changed people's perception of what golf actually is. This was a real show of golf from Harmon as opposed to the whack it as far as you can in the easiest weather imaginable version of boring golf served up by the pga tour week in week out
True dat! Hit it a million miles and so far up in the air it comes down with ice on it, so that it lands and stops... *yawn*. Proper golf learning how to land it, where to land it and what it'll do when it lands... that's interesting. Not Harmon's fault everyone else did a significantly worse job of that than him.
Dude it’s a different style of golf get outta here with the whole “purerer form of golf” bullshit. Harmon was amazing and no one could compete with him in the week
Tom Watson, legend. 2009 Open was one of the most amazing things I've seen. Almost 60 years old, over 25 years after his last major, Tom was an 8 foot putt away from winning. Heartbreaking to see him lose the playoff to Cink. But what a ride.
I was there and saw him hit that third shot from the back edge and I was desperate to shout "it's faster than you think from there" because everyone had hit it too far from that back edge all day! I swear come the end of the playoff only Stewart Cink and his caddy wanted Stewart Cink to win. Even Stewart Cink's WIFE wanted Tom to win! :)
Before social media we didn’t know players stories, Brian played smart and puttered beautifully. Great win for a player with the most top tens since 2017
My primary takeaway of the 2023 Open was:
1. Brian Harman played nearly perfect golf over 72 holes.
2. Brian Harman ruined the 2023 Open (made it completely boring) by playing nearly perfect golf.
3. Brian Harman was the coolest "cucumber" in ANY major tournament I've ever seen, hands down. It was like after every shot he made he went "Ho hum." I kept waiting to see him yawn on the course in between shots!
Congrats to Brian Harman for a very well deserved win in the 2023 Open.
Yup, a bunch of hypocrites
Not at all. Harman has more top 10s than just about anyone since 2017. Its crazy he hasn't got it done more often. Stand up guy. Was pulling for him since he grabbed the lead on Friday
Yeah , he's been within striking distance on alot of weekends . I'm surprised he's not got more wins under his belt ! I use him on DraftKings alot . His price will be going up now 😢 Lol
As a fellow 5’7 36yo from the southern US, very proud to see Brian win. Shorter hitter, his accuracy and putting prevailed. Was rooting for Fleetwood at the start, but realized I needed to be rooting for Harman. Totally agree with your guy’s analysis though, if Rory or Rahm had won with that score we would be praising them
If anything,the top players of the world were quite boring this past weekend. Harman wiped the floor with them. Fun to watch. New players New faces. Great Win.
If Rory had won in the same manner it would go down as the best open ever.
Point? He is Rory, a big factor is the sport no matter if you like him or not. Brian is just a dude.
Cause Rory is fun to watch, Harman just shots puts his head down and takes off his glove with his mouth, and does it all week, it’s just boring, people love Rory, Rahm , Hatton cause they got personality
@@joshramirez7 Rory is a whiney gnome and thinks his opinion matters. I love the fact that the PGA threw him and Tiger under the bus.
@@omgHeadshotstake a listen to some of his post win interviews and you may change your tune on "he's boring" trope. He comes across as a thoughtful, interesting family man who embodies humility and perseverance. Qualities we hope are being passed on to the next generation, rather than some flashy whinger that talks of "hate.....LIV".
@@anthonygollan831Padraig Harrington said in a podcast if you actually listen to the interview Rory gave about LIV that time, he was really insightful and fair, but the media twists it into something it wasn’t and people like you fall for it without even knowing what was actually said
As a lefty, seeing Brian and Akshay win was brilliant to watch.
With everything being about distance now, it was also great to see someone win playing 'traditional' golf.
No one ever called Tiger's runaway performance at the US Open in '00 boring. This wasn't either. It was a master class on how to make your peers look like clowns.
Yup. Sir nick and assinger were telling us before the round the Harmon could hold on, he isn’t good enough. It was like cnn or msnbc went into golf coverage. Disgusting 🤮
For years when Tiger dominated nobody called a tournament boring if he won by 12.
Harmon wins by 6 and all these people are saying it was boring.
He played the game better than anyone else over 4 days.....respect
The meet up was special lads, Thank you for signing my driver head Rick!
Yes it was. I was watching Old Trafford waiting for the rain to stop. That's how dull the open was this year.
So happy to see Brian win, I found it riveting, and highlights making courses longer favours the big hitters, make courses tighter is what's needed, and golfers of Brian's stature can shine.
Harman’s golf was steady and, as a result, he didn’t have to scramble. He hit excellent shots for virtually the entire final round so they weren’t from difficult lies. For some fans that came across as boring regardless of how dominating he was playing. Hats off to him and it will be interesting to see the fan reaction in Italy if he makes the Ryder Cup team.
No. Because if it was anyone different, they would've been praised for holding back their length and using strategy to their advantage. People are upset cause it was a guy their not used to seeing win. Great open, even better playing conditions! More majors need played in Europe!
Hi guys , what makes Brian Harmans win a bit special, was the fact most of the other players had better weather conditions but not the leading groups , so many past champions owe their wins to the luck of the draw and better weather conditions but Harman did it in the worst conditions and came out on top, so well done Brian a great champion.
Brian Harman's performance was of rare quality,to play with the lead in those conditions and to increase his lead was phenomenal...best performance in a major for a long long time...
58 of 59 putts within 10ft will definitely win you a major at that level of play!
I think the greens were slow and pretty straight forward. Clearly, the winner was going to be a great putter. Poor putters need not apply
The guy who wins a tournament like the Open in such terrible conditions, deserves to win. You have to give credit where it’s due.
Having had the same debate at the PGA this year about the best spectating strategy. In my opinion, the best strategy is the following:
Find a morning group to follow through the whole course, then in the afternoon wave when they put 3 or 4 groups of big names in consecutive order, follow them through the front 9 skipping 3 or 4 holes at a time to stay in front of the crowd, and then when they make the turn, head for the 18th grandstand and watch everyone finish up.
I was in the grandstand at St Andrews 1995 when Rocca holed that put. The stand really shook. Was amazing to see Daly hold the claret jug. Amazing personality.
I don't know if it was boring. It was broadcast on NBC...and if you wanted to view on your computer it was subscription only or just the par threes. I fail to see how a sport can talk about "growing the game" and then fail to understand that subscription viewing lowers the interest. I will not pay to view something that is free on other channels. The 3M is on CBS this week...FREE streaming. LIV is always FREE streaming. NBC nope
I agree with you. What was disturbing for me was that NBC had a commercial every 7-8 minutes until late in the match when it was every 15 minutes.
You are validating the topic of the Thinking Mans shows last topic. The broadcasters want the stars to shine, which is not always possible with golf. I personally like the under dog coming through. Tommy Fleetwood would have been a great story, again the under dog coming to the front. I like watching good golf, even if it's not mine. On another subject, I am also a hunter/gatherer, living in Northern Maine we don't have to explain ourselves. What's your thoughts on the Thursday/Friday coverage of the Open omitting LIV Players; including last year's Champion?
Sounds like bitter grapes, immaculate performance by Harman, he did not choke like many sol called big names
I find it noteworthy that Rory has not won a single major in the last 10 years since he fired his caddie
Not a bit boring. If the rest if the field can't challenge, so be it. Also, if this was any of the top five in the world, people would be extolling how good they were, on the day. It was great to see a proper Open with good weather, bad weather and a deserving winner. ❤
it was boring mate, was pretty much done by the weekend
@trystandavies2469 That's your opinion, but I watched, at home, all day Saturday and Sunday, and loved it. I truly believe that the conditions are what an Open is about, and without them, the modern golfers blitz them.
Harman did brilliantly, he got out in front by not hitting so hard and keeping it straight. Once he had the lead the others had to catch him and the harder they tried the worse it got from them!
Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall was the fight, absolutely disgraceful decision. Also spotted Guy at the open Thursday and said hello in passing 👍
Brian Harmon gains a lot more fans for his participation in hunting than he loses.
Not hard to do since he didn't have many fans to begin with.
Especially cause he’s a bow hunter too. No gun controversy
all the wimpy do-gooders hate the fact that the USA and other countries have controlled culling
I really enjoyed watching Harman at the Renaissance Club the previous weekend, in person. Saw him on the range and on a few holes and he looked a real good player. What a dominant performance to blow the field away and a great advert for what putting prowess can bring you.
I can't be the only one who's had a putting lesson since the open? 😅
I think we were spoiled by Cam 's 30 on the back nine.the weather element did not allow that kind of exciting finish seeing Brian was 6 in front.anyway will be watching next year at Troon. Go Jason Day and the Aussies. PS what about Travis's hole in one on Friday.another Aussie talent. PSS watch out for Daniel Gale at 3m this weekend in US.
Another great podcast gents. Perfect to have playing in the background while I’m cooking dinner 👌🏻 Looking forward to the 200th celebrations 🎉 🥳
I think most fans of the sport (not personalities) appreciated it. It was quite a show from my perspective how he picked apart the course with strategic execution, and the guy doesn’t hit it as far as the Rorys of the world. It was reminiscent of how Tiger did with hitting irons only years back.
Honestly, I thought it was great. Harman played brilliantly at the US Open and I thought he'd be a great chance at The Open too, and then he won in an almost Tiger-esque fashion being miles clear of the field. If anything, the negative for me was how much the commentators kept harping on about how amazing Rory was when it was clear he had absolutely no chance and was never in contention.
The new GXR V2 Driver hits it 320!!!
The old Harmon Driver hits fairways!!
Love you guys, some constructive criticism though: I wish I kept a count of the number of times I’m watching to the pod on UA-cam and hear “we’ll put it up on the screen” and see nothing. Not a big deal but either do it, or cut that bit from the pod. Seems like no one takes note of these comments, that TV on the wall would work fine too, just cast it there
I'm thrilled Rory didn't win.
This is what makes golf so great. It’s the ultimate outcome sport. Talk shows, podcast, social don’t get to define who is the best. Thanks UK hecklers for inspiring Harmon.
His stats in the open were great. Watching that was a joy, if no one else can keep up then so be it. If it was boring for those that backed players with money, who were not in the running then that this their tough luck.
On the Vegas Golden Knights, the thing expansion teams have over something like LIV is a *city*. If you live in Vegas you can instantly support the Golden Knights regardless of how old they are. But there's no connection to Smashers, etc. besides maybe having some players you like or some website BuzzFeed quiz picking a team for you.
To act like LIVs teams are a finished product is stupid. You also ignore the Stingers, Torque, Fireballs, Rippers, Ironheads and Majesticks have a clear fanbase they are attempting to cater to like any other sports franchise
First time at a professional golf tournament & all the way from South Africa & loved every minute (well besides the rain)! Was really keen to see Victor or Jon win but in the ends it’s golf & best man wins 🏆 & Brian dominated 👌🏻
The other way to attend is to volunteer as a marshal on a hole. I did that at Warwick Hills for the Buick Open. I chose the 18th hole. :)
Brian Harmon played the best by far over the tournament - lead all major categories - kudos to him. What made this Open so boring was the course and conditions. It didn’t play like a links course - it was like a traditional American course with all the trees removed. Every hole seemed the same and no holes stood out. There was no real danger out there. The highlight for me was Rahm’s 63 on Saturday - that was phenomenal.
I'd disagree. The danger is what frustrated and penalised the current crop of the best ballstrikers. Rahm and Rory in rough and bunkers after being too aggressive. Faldo was even criticising their course management. If they played the same types of courses for a month or so, I'm sure they'd all check the egos and aggression and play like tiger played in his open victories.
You’d be shocked how quickly the Vegas Golden Knights built a fan base. They’ve got fans up here in Northern Nevada too, about 450 miles away.
Watching Hartman was like watching paint dry ,, 12 wiggles with EVERY single shot,,
Hard to watch...
Yeah annoying, hit the ball already 😂
15th green grandstand. Watched the approaches in from the 2nd shot. Could watch the whole of the 4th hole and could watch the drives from the 16th. Got to see everyone hit every type of shot
I think Sepp Straka should have been mentioned in your blog. He plays a great season.
On the LIV Teams, joy of being an Australian gives you a natural position to back Ripper GC!
I think it was a bit because Tommy, Rham et al, didn’t make a competition of it on Sunday, but the weather dampened the crowd at the end, you got the feeling they couldn’t wait to get out of the rain.
I went to the open and have been going (when I can get tickets now) for years and you CANNOT follow a group, it’s impossible, there’s too many crossing points you’d get stuck at. I tend to get behind a tee or get on a grandstand and stay for a couple of hours but, I 💯 go to watch the golf ⛳️
It wasn’t a great spectator course very flat with few vantage points. Also easy to lose your bearings there. Birkdale is much better for viewing as you can get up the dunes and see across multiple holes.
I’m a 21-year-old guy grew up watching golf I never got the hype around Rory. I’m American, so maybe that’s why but I never got why he’s so popular. I much more prefer watching the “villain golfers” brooks brycen Phil I obviously loved tiger but he’s not the villain style player, I’ll be glad to see them on the same place again because I think it makes a Golf a lot more fun to watch. I really think when we look back on it that Brooks is a much more prolific golfer than Rory is, but that’s just my opinion.
I'm so grateful for the hundreds of fans that follow Rory around the course, it means I can watch Hovland and Tommy in peace.
Great championship, great champion. A masterclass in how to play that course, in those conditions. Why were the others not following his lead and eliminating risk, by avoiding bunkers and the rough ? The addiction with long drives was the downfall for so many at Royal Liverpool
Major winners used to play end of year tournament in Kauai. It was great because very limited crowds and players relaxed. Only place ever got Tiger to sign ball.
It wasn't boring it was great play by Brian Harman. On the bright side i got to meet you both on the Monday practice day you made my week at Liverpool all the better
I follow both LIV and normal golf, and you commented about those that missed the cut. But the behind the scenes VLOG that Mia Baker did shows how the conditioned changed for players, and how much the weather can affect whether these great players can make the cut line. In LIV, all players at least tee off in the same conditions. What would you prefer?
No, if it had been your little Rory you'd be gushing over it.
not really, no one played well enough to catch him. If rory had won by that much it would've been equally as boring
Brians win proves that medium distance straight hitting is more important than 370 yards OOB or in thick rough. The courses have changed and are longer but good straight golf will always win the day. It was hilarious seeing so many top golfers crap themselves on 18 because of an OOB. lol . Something that many of us are used to seeing.
Thought it was a very entertaining Open. So many elites at the top trying their absolute best to catch Harm thru crazy weather and pressure. And Harm behind em all just playing his game and nobody else’s.
He played the Tiger playbook. He kept everything around 270-280 off the tee, and he stayed out of the Bunkers! He kept all his drives under the bunkers and just kept his approaches in the middle of the green and just simply 2 putt! He built an early lead and just made people come beat him, and made no mistakes! That was the Old Tiger game plan not only when he won there, but all the time!
Exactly what Tiger did in 07, except Tiger could do it with 3 irons off most the tees because it was so damn dry the ground roll took 1,000 yards off the course. It was a class display of high golf IQ by Harmon. People need to learn that "making it look easy" is REALLY hard!
Hi guys. I know you don’t like talking about the money side of professional golf but it was good to see even the players that didn’t make the cut got a share of the purse, which in my view was great for the players that had to go through pre qualifying.
Regarding LIV .... how many people who don't follow LIV could name which golfers are on which teams? I only recently came to know Majesticks but that's because they have a theme of the Brits with Poulter, Westwood, and Horsfield. I couldn't tell you what team Phil, Koepka, Sergio, Reed, Smith, DJ, Bryson, or Bubba play for.
I could tell you every single player and on what team tbh
Whoever wins, deserves it! He played better than anyone else in the field. That’s a fact!
Fair enough I did want Tommy to win, but he didn’t. He didn’t play well enough.
Keep guy off the main channel!
Re: Liv team comment's, would your point of view on teams differ if you guys had a UK team (IE Ian's team) that was up there and winning? In having said that I'm from New Zealand. I really like the team aspect, to me it adds a lot more interest. cheers Guys
The 17th hole and Hoylake is the like 17th at Sawgrass. It’s contrived to try and force disaster. It doesn’t look like any of the holes or fit into Royal Liverpool’s design at all.
40:14 I’m not sure I fully agree that you won’t be watching a lot of golf. I went on the Friday and saw loads, and from many different perspectives. Sat in grandstands at 1st tee, 17th and 18th green and in a hidden gem of a grandstand behind 7th green/8th tee. Plus plenty of walking by fairways and watching shots. You can watch loads of golf-just need a bit of a plan and a willingness to put the steps in! If you want to follow a group, I definitely agree with Guy-follow a lesser known group otherwise you won’t see loads.
The last 5 mins of this episode made me chuckle!
why was it Boring just because one the top 5 in world didnt win !!! think it was a great test with typical english weather and the best player over the 4 days Won
no competition, it was boring let's be honest
I would really like to see a tournament (preferably one with all the top players), in which no player on the card has ever played the course before and no practice rounds. Just show up on the first tee and go for it, like mortals have to do when playing sometimes. Let's see who the best really is. Would probably require a brand new course to be built but would be interesting to watch. Maybe a middle eastern sponsor could sort it?
I think the Open was a bit boring, but not because of Brian Harman. He put on a masterclass on how to play links golf. I believe it had more to do with the rest of the field being average at best outside of Rahm's 63. I know Liverpool is hard but watching tour pros shoot +10 really isn't as entertaining as watching golf UA-camrs do it.
Wouldn’t be so boring watching him win if he didn’t look up and down a waggle the club 13 times befor each shot 😂
They used to play the Grand Slam in Hawaii at the end of the season. They did not always get the 4 major winners to participate despite a very healthy purse plus appearance money. The Golden Crown would also disrupt the PGA Tour playoffs and participants might be barred for life ...lol.
I thought Paddy Considine was fantastic in Dead Man’s Shoes. So good to see him move on from that and host this superb golf podcast.
I found it one of the more engaging majors of recent times. Sunday's adverse weather just added to the vibe
Backed him at 110 to 1 not boring at all
Happy to see Hartman win. Patience got rewarded.
5:59 The one this reminds me of is Stewart Cink 2009. Obviously that was more dramatic but similar in the sense that it was a solid PGA Tour American player that people knew but probably wouldn’t have predicted would win The Open.
Awesome - one of the best Opens ever. Great to see an unheralded golfer show the British kingdom who's the boss.
No. It was extraordinary golf by Brian Harmen. I watched his round only on day 4, it was riveting, if you had the belief it is hard to maintain a lead on day 4 in dreary conditions, with basically the crowed rooting against you. I loved it. First Shiels show I clicked off on.....could see where it is going. Talking about everyone except the winner.
I’m glad someone asked the “damn” question. 😂
It’s been bothering/bugging/making me laugh for a while now. I wasn’t sure if it was just me and how I was hearing it or what.
Brian Harman has been up there in the majors this season and he was brilliant at Liverpool well done brian lets give credit where it's due
It wasn't as exciting as if it were a neck and neck race down to the last hole, but to me it was still enjoyable to watch because Harman was playing some great golf. His ability to recover and hold steady after less than stellar starts on Saturday and Sunday was incredible.
It was enjoyable 👌
I found Sunday dull, but that’s not Harmans fault, that’s the rest of the fields issue. Brian has shown that power isn’t the only way. It’s good to see once in a while.
We got to see the best golfers in the world compete on one of the toughest courses in the world. It was not any more or any less boring than normal golf coverage. Brian Harman played his ass off and seems to be a class act.
1 kool thing about live is u can walk all 18 and see every group playing that day!
I've been watching the liv events alot, and I've really been enjoying the shotgun starts, why can't more events start like that so each round doesn't take all day to be completed
Indeed. You also get that extra bit of intrigue when they all have four to play, but for some of them that's four easy holes and for some of them it's four hard holes... It keeps it interesting, doesn't require you to watch 12 hours of golf if you want to see everything and also doesn't include more adverts than actual golf!