• last year
Transcript
00:00 - Okay, that's it.
00:01 We have our champion golf of the year for 2023
00:04 here at the 151st Open Championship.
00:06 And again, Monty, we're talking about Brian Harman.
00:08 Congratulations to him.
00:10 Won in the round today, wins by six shots.
00:13 - Well-earned victory, I think that is.
00:16 No one really challenged him, no one pressed him.
00:18 He had an easy day today, I felt.
00:20 - Yeah, he did, and he's just been brilliant all week.
00:22 And we sat here on Friday morning with a five-shot lead,
00:26 on Saturday morning with a five-shot lead,
00:28 and he's won it by six today.
00:30 The weather's just been dreadful.
00:32 You can probably see my foot-dry waterproofs
00:34 doing a lot of heavy lifting today.
00:36 - Yeah, you are wearing the waterproofs.
00:38 I've opted for just a T-shirt today.
00:40 Probably a silly move, but well worth it, well worth it.
00:44 And the conditions, although wet,
00:46 it wasn't very windy at all.
00:48 It was quite easy out there on the course.
00:50 I felt watching from afar.
00:51 I wasn't obviously playing,
00:52 so I can't speak for the players.
00:53 But watching on, there was no real challenge.
00:57 The pins were quite fairly placed, I thought,
00:59 quite accessible on a lot of holes.
01:00 There were birdies out there,
01:02 and people were making birdies.
01:03 But no one just, no one capitalised.
01:06 - Yeah, and all the players really had to do today
01:08 was manage themselves in the wet conditions.
01:10 I think the caddies earned their pay today.
01:12 Again, with Brian Harman, it started with a little slip.
01:15 We thought, oh, could he go here again?
01:17 Two bogeys in his first five.
01:18 He made a six on the par five fifth,
01:21 including having to drop his T-shirt
01:23 after going into the gorse.
01:24 And then, which I think for me,
01:26 Monty won him the championship,
01:28 went birdie, birdie, six, seven.
01:29 - Oh, that's very impressive.
01:30 That's something Tiger prides himself on,
01:33 is going bogey, bouncing back with a birdie.
01:36 And Harman's done that there,
01:37 just back-to-back, birdie, birdie,
01:39 and never seemed to look back after that.
01:41 It seems to just walk away from him.
01:43 - No, he really wasn't phased,
01:44 really wasn't phased all day.
01:45 So as the winner, Monty,
01:47 shall I tell you what Brian Harman has got himself
01:49 for this weekend? - Do tell me,
01:50 what's he won this week? - $3 million.
01:51 Is that a place? - $3 million.
01:53 - He gets the actual claret jug for a year,
01:55 the real thing, and then will present it back
01:57 at Royal Troon next year, but we will get a replica.
02:01 He'll get the gold medal as well,
02:02 which has been given out to players since 1872.
02:05 His open exemptions, he'll play here at the Open
02:08 until he's 60, and he'll be in every major
02:11 and every players' championship for the next five years.
02:14 It's a pretty huge move.
02:15 He goes up to 11th in the World Golf Rankings, I think.
02:18 He had a career high, about 20th.
02:20 That's his first major win,
02:22 and now his third win on the PGA Tour.
02:24 - That's a lot to win in one day, isn't it?
02:26 Over four days of golf to come away with that as your prize.
02:29 That's quite something.
02:30 And you mentioned the gold medal there.
02:31 I do just want to pick up on the amateur, Christo Lamprecht.
02:34 - Yes. - He's walking away
02:35 with the silver medal. - Absolutely deserved.
02:36 - After his performance this week.
02:38 He did well to get into the weekend
02:39 after shooting a great round on Thursday.
02:41 - Yeah. - Unfortunately, just fell off.
02:43 I think the pressure maybe got to him a little bit there,
02:46 but he does walk away with something,
02:48 which is well-deserved.
02:49 - Yeah, the big six for eight South African,
02:51 I think, blew us away on day one
02:52 with some of his ball speed, some of his golf was excellent.
02:55 - Yes, special talent, something for the future.
02:57 - Yeah, absolutely.
02:58 So rounding up the major year there, Monty.
03:00 We've had three American major winners in a row.
03:02 This isn't a Ryder Cup year, by the way.
03:05 Both Schaeffler and McElroy go majorless again.
03:08 If McElroy doesn't win the Masters next year,
03:09 he'd have gone 10 years without a major.
03:11 Should we chat a little bit about him again today?
03:12 He shot 68.
03:14 Again, it was really good,
03:15 but I feel deflated about him for some reason.
03:16 - Yes, McElroy again started well today,
03:19 made three consecutive birdies on his opening five holes,
03:23 something he did yesterday.
03:25 Each day, he has improved.
03:27 I believe we checked out earlier,
03:29 he's gone better by one shot each day.
03:31 Still not enough to take down Brian Harman, unfortunately.
03:36 McElroy, coming off a great week last week,
03:38 couldn't quite pull it together this week.
03:39 - Yeah, I think it was just the putter that was cold.
03:41 We spoke yesterday, it was 112th strokes game
03:43 with the putter.
03:44 I haven't got the stats for today,
03:45 but it felt like perhaps something similar.
03:48 - Yeah, I wouldn't just say McElroy on the flat stick there.
03:50 I think every player out there
03:52 was struggling on those greens.
03:53 Brian Harman just seemed to be knocking long putts in,
03:55 short putts in, a couple maybe slipped by,
03:57 but on the whole, players weren't holding
03:59 those crucial putts.
04:00 - Yeah, he knocked an absolute crack on the 14th
04:03 from long range for birdie,
04:04 which again just felt like every time he gave
04:06 a glimmer of hope, opened the door a tiny bit,
04:09 he would close it again pretty quickly.
04:11 Winner of the rider cup year, Monty,
04:13 does that pretty much put Brian Harman
04:15 in the team, in your opinion?
04:17 - That's hard to say.
04:18 I would say after this performance, yes,
04:21 but you've got to look at the whole year,
04:23 future events coming up,
04:25 but I think he's a strong contender, definitely.
04:27 He's had good wins in the past.
04:29 We know he's good in match play format
04:31 through past performances,
04:33 so I would be definitely considering him for the team.
04:35 - Yeah, I think he'll probably just get
04:36 on his qualification points.
04:38 Interesting though, John Daly, who won the '95 Open
04:40 and the '91 PGA Championship,
04:43 didn't get into the rider cup teams that year.
04:44 Maybe Brian Harman might be one of those.
04:46 I hope not, he deserved it, right?
04:48 - Definitely after today's performance.
04:50 - We'll come on to some other performances
04:51 for the week shortly.
04:53 Let's go for some notable performances today.
04:55 And again, in rider cup watch, Austrian Sepp Strakke,
04:58 two under today, seven under for the tournament,
04:59 at his Open debut.
05:01 He played some unbelievable golf.
05:02 He looks like a powerful player.
05:03 - He did.
05:04 He is obviously a powerful player, like you say,
05:06 and he's set himself up for quite a few
05:09 birdie opportunities out there.
05:10 At one point, I thought he may just catch Brian
05:13 if Brian slipped up just a little bit,
05:15 but Brian was just too good for the rest of the field.
05:18 Strakke did bogey the last, unfortunately.
05:21 Otherwise, he would have finished a clear second place.
05:24 But he has tied second there at seven under.
05:26 A couple other noticeable performances today.
05:29 We've got Tom Kim, you mentioned Tom Kim there.
05:31 - Yeah, four under today, really solid golf.
05:33 - Jason Day, again, finishing seven under.
05:35 - Good to see him back, isn't it, Jason Day?
05:37 Playing some good golf again.
05:38 - Crown favourite, definitely.
05:39 And he chipped in today.
05:41 I forget what time it was, sorry.
05:42 - Played with that cap as well for a while.
05:43 - Did he?
05:44 - Yeah.
05:45 - You don't see that very often, do you?
05:46 - No, not in the rain.
05:47 - And it was getting heavier now.
05:49 It was properly, properly wet out there.
05:51 If you were there today watching, well done.
05:54 Seriously, I couldn't leave immediately.
05:56 - Yeah, commend you.
05:56 - I couldn't bring myself to do it.
05:57 - We were sat inside, we were keeping warm and toasty
05:59 while we watched you guys out there,
06:01 umbrellas up, waterproofs on.
06:03 True fans, true supporters, really great.
06:05 Great to see that.
06:07 - Let's chat about the Fitzpatrick brothers.
06:08 Where did Alex Fitzpatrick finish in the end?
06:09 He struggled a little bit today.
06:11 Where is he?
06:12 - He's over Tide 17, but beat his brother.
06:15 - Beat his brother.
06:15 - That was his open debut as well.
06:17 - That's a highlight of the week for me,
06:18 that the Fitzpatrick brothers making the cut together,
06:22 being able to play in it.
06:23 Well, Alex's first open championship
06:27 and playing it with his brother.
06:28 They didn't play alongside each other,
06:29 but to have him there as support, moral support,
06:32 I think that's a memory they'll both cherish
06:35 and remember for a long time.
06:37 - Let's look elsewhere.
06:39 Matthew Jordan, we mention him every single day.
06:41 The local lad, member here at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
06:44 Finished three under in the end.
06:45 What a performance from him.
06:47 He hit the first tee shot on Thursday morning
06:49 and he was there pretty late today on the Sunday,
06:51 I think in the final five or six groups, whatever it was.
06:54 What a week for him.
06:55 - Absolutely stellar performance from Matthew Jordan.
06:58 Your home track, there is a lot of pressure there
07:00 because people expect you to know the course
07:02 and I think he delivered.
07:03 He's come in, read numbers.
07:06 A lot of pros struggled this week
07:08 and he's done exceptionally well.
07:10 And there's no surprise we've been talking about him
07:12 all week this week.
07:13 And we'll be talking about him for the future.
07:15 - I think so.
07:16 I think he really wants to look out for young English lad.
07:19 Maybe he can fly the flag
07:20 at the top of the English leaderboard.
07:22 Speaking of which, Tommy Fleetwood
07:24 was going along fine again today.
07:27 It felt to me, Monty,
07:29 as if Tommy's been at five under
07:30 since about Thursday afternoon.
07:32 He just sort of, I don't think he got any lower than four
07:35 or any higher than like six or seven for the whole week.
07:37 - It feels wonderful.
07:38 - Until the 17th today.
07:39 It really does.
07:40 It feels like he's been there for a month.
07:43 He's been at there for so long, like you say, five under.
07:45 He's just not been able to break that next barrier.
07:48 He's tickled with six under, seven under.
07:50 And then unfortunately, 17th today,
07:52 he triple bogeyed going long.
07:54 So that was a dangerous hole.
07:55 Players were afraid of that hole going in.
07:57 There's no real bailout option.
07:58 So he unfortunately walked away with bogey there.
08:02 - Did you enjoy the 17th this week?
08:03 There was a lot of chat coming into it
08:04 about the new hole, how challenging would it be?
08:08 It played tough-ish, but do you think it delivered
08:11 the drama perhaps Royal Liverpool wanted
08:13 when building that hole?
08:15 - I don't believe it built as much drama
08:17 as they were hoping.
08:17 You know, you have a lot of danger right, left, long, short.
08:20 Most pros were able to find that green quite safely.
08:23 In fact, one, Travis Smith, highlight of the week.
08:26 Hole in one. - Hole in one.
08:26 Just the one hole in one this week there.
08:28 - Just the one hole in one. - I thought there'd be more.
08:29 - There were a couple of close ones.
08:30 Ricky Fowler today, danced one right up past the hole there.
08:33 Easy birdie for him there.
08:36 So some great scores on that hole.
08:38 I think we were all hoping for a little bit more drama.
08:41 - Yeah. - A few more doubles,
08:42 few more triples. - Yeah.
08:43 - And maybe some lost balls.
08:44 - Yeah, not quite in the end.
08:46 Probably 'cause he only plays like a nine and eight iron
08:48 for these guys, so it was hard to go totally wrong.
08:51 Where else do you want to look?
08:52 Matthew Jordan was four under by the way, not three under.
08:54 One under today, excuse me.
08:56 Top of the Live leaderboard, Henrik Stenson.
08:59 - Henrik Stenson. - Former champion goal
09:00 for the year, three under for the tournament.
09:02 That's a great, I've not seen him for ages.
09:04 - Yeah, he's been off the grid for a little while.
09:05 - Yeah, I've not heard of his name
09:07 and he's done exceptionally well.
09:08 Shubhankar Sharma, again today, great performance.
09:11 - Bogey free today, right?
09:12 - Bogey free final round.
09:13 I believe he was the only player to go bogey free
09:16 in this final round.
09:17 - Highly likely, highly, highly likely.
09:19 - Finished five under, what a great performance
09:21 from the young man there.
09:22 - So how do we think Monty people will look back
09:26 on the 150 first open?
09:27 I'm thinking currently wet and ultimately
09:31 not a lot of drama.
09:33 - Not a lot of drama, obviously we as fans
09:36 will look back and remember Brian Harman winning
09:39 by quite a long way.
09:41 There was nothing that exciting that happened
09:43 so it could be one that could just slip your mind
09:45 in the future, which is a shame,
09:47 but there was some great golf out there by Mr. Harman
09:50 and he'll definitely remember this for a long time.
09:51 - He won't forget it, of course.
09:53 I'm not trying to take anything away from Brian Harman
09:54 who played brilliantly all week.
09:56 It's just there wasn't a heck of a lot of drama.
09:57 - Any highlights for you this week, Dan?
09:59 - Ram 63, you could feel that buzzing around the course.
10:02 There was a great bit of atmosphere there.
10:04 - Absolutely, course record.
10:05 Yeah, I agreed.
10:06 I actually, walking into the course Saturday morning,
10:10 I didn't quite bump into him,
10:12 but I saw Justin Thomas packing up his car
10:14 after he missed the cut.
10:15 - It's been a tough week.
10:16 - Now, that's obviously sad to see,
10:18 but for me it humanized him.
10:20 It humanized the tour players.
10:22 They're just golfers, they're like you and me.
10:24 They make mistakes, they miss cuts.
10:26 We'd like to see him come back and bounce back
10:28 after this week.
10:29 - Absolutely, and we look forward
10:31 to the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
10:35 That's going to be an exciting one.
10:36 Gorgeous, gorgeous golf course.
10:38 Hopefully the weather plays ball.
10:39 Hopefully there's a bit more drama,
10:41 but for now, thank you very much for joining us
10:43 for the last four days here at the Open Camping Village.
10:46 One more wet night in the tent.
10:48 - One more wet night for you.
10:49 - And we're off our way.
10:50 It's been brilliant, brilliant fun.
10:51 Hope you enjoyed these review shows,
10:53 and hopefully we'll see you again next year.

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