Was The Open boring with Brian Harman winning? 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.......

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.

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.

No one would call it boring if tiger or rory won by 6 shots.

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 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

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.

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.

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

If Rory had won in the same manner it would go down as the best open ever.

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

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

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

Yes it was. I was watching Old Trafford waiting for the rain to stop. That's how dull the open was this year.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Another great podcast gents. Perfect to have playing in the background while I’m cooking dinner 👌🏻 Looking forward to the 200th celebrations 🎉 🥳

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.

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.

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.

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

The meet up was special lads, Thank you for signing my driver head Rick!

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.

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...

Sounds like bitter grapes, immaculate performance by Harman, he did not choke like many sol called big names

58 of 59 putts within 10ft will definitely win you a major at that level of play!

Josh Taylor v Jack Catterall was the fight, absolutely disgraceful decision. Also spotted Guy at the open Thursday and said hello in passing 👍

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 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.

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.

I find it noteworthy that Rory has not won a single major in the last 10 years since he fired his caddie

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. ❤

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 don't know if this is possible or maybe not, but I would love to see a compilation of your interviews at the Open. In NZ it was not that easy to get the full coverage live.

Great show. Love The Open stories.

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.

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.

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 👌🏻

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? 😅

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.

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 Harmon gains a lot more fans for his participation in hunting than he loses.

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.

When I started today's episode, I thought I was at the gun show 💪🏻. That shirt vest combo tripped me up!

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.

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. :)

Haha.. I thought Rick had a cut-off T-shirt on at first!!! 😂 it’s a good look Rick!! Show the guns

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.

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?

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'm thrilled Rory didn't win.

I think Sepp Straka should have been mentioned in your blog. He plays a great season.

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.

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.

is there any exception to play the JCB course? I would love to play there as it's only down the road from me. I'm going to the JCB Championship on 5th august! can't wait

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.

Whoever wins, deserves it! He played better than anyone else in the field. That’s a fact!

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

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.

The last 5 mins of this episode made me chuckle!

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.

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.

This was exciting. A different kind of exciting. But exciting. Among Harman's stats this week, he was the only player to shoot all 4 rounds under par. That's amazing and something I haven't heard anyone talk about. On this course. In these conditions. Just amazing. If this was Tiger or Rory or Rahm doing exactly the same thing this tournament would be remembered as one of the greatest of all time -- because of the dominance and near-perfection on the greens and avoidance of bunkers. I was glued to the Sky Sports stream all weekend.

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.

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

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.

dude that first email def made me emotional as well! Congrats!!!

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 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.

If you’re looking for a good burger at a golf club, try the ‘Whalley Burger’ at Whalley Golf Club (near Clitheroe) it’s a fab 9 hole course (voted top 15 9-hole course in the UK!), also Rick, it comes with salad for that diet 😅

No, if it had been your little Rory you'd be gushing over it.

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 only watched the highlight videos for each round. Looked like the competition was very good although Harman ran away with it but you still have the other players 2nd and below competiting.

The new GXR V2 Driver hits it 320!!! The old Harmon Driver hits fairways!!

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

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

On the LIV Teams, joy of being an Australian gives you a natural position to back Ripper GC!

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.

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.

It was enjoyable 👌

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 😂

Hi Rick and guy love your show today the only thing I would say is harman was the best putter could help you beat 75 also think of buy the eleven golf club they are hybrids at £444-99 would love to try one kept going cool podcast

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.

Boring? Are you nuts. I watched the entire Open. Loved it! I was puling for Tommy Fleetwood, but he just couldn't get going.17 and 18 where awesome!

Does anyone know where we can see the rest of the One club interviews?

I noticed that those sausage rolls, and double burgers are starting to build up! ... aspiring to look like Ryan is a tough ask. Go for it.

It was me that was telling you to be careful and not to stand there and then strange how Bryson nearly hit you. I was the guy who worked at the HSBC tent I was gutted I never got a photo with you.

Will you be releasing the lowry interview or can we see it anywhere .

Brian Harman was the only golfer who got to -9, -10, -11, -12, and -13. Straka was the only golfer who got to -8 and that was only for a few holes. Excellent performance by Harman and amazing how to kept it together those last two rounds.

Was there on Sunday and the weather didn’t help. It was all over before Harman got on the back nine. To be fair which sucked any excitement out of it.

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.

Cure for the shanks? A shot of penicillin!! ;-)