Brian Harman has produced one of the most dominant major performances in the modern era to seal a six-shot victory at the 151st Open Championship.
Ever since the American posted an eagle on the final hole of his second round, there has been distance between himself and the field, and his play over the weekend has not been without blips.
However, as each of the chasing pack failed to find the surge required to post a challenge, Harman stuck to a gameplan of fairways, greens in regulation and making numerous impressive putts from various lengths.
The left-hander ends a six-year wait for another title, with his last success coming at the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship, and he will now enter the equation for the Ryder Cup when he may have not even entered the conversation at the start of the week.
There were three bogeys during the 36-year-old's final round, including two in the first five holes, yet he twice hit back-to-back birdies during more wet conditions on Sunday to keep clear of his rivals.
Mastery of the elements.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
Brian Harman claims a supreme six stroke victory at Hoylake.
A magnificent performance. pic.twitter.com/Ic3HRsF5my
Tom Kim and Sepp Straka each missed putts down the stretch to close the gap, but those two players, Jon Rahm and Jason Day all had to be content with a share of second position.
Rory McIlroy produced a 68 for his final round, a performance which was respectable enough given the conditions, yet the Northern Irishman tied with Emiliano Grillo for sixth, with Cameron Young and Shubhankar Sharma claiming eighth position.
Local favourites Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Jordan each finished in a tie for 10th - a birdie on the last earning Jordan an invite to next year's tournament - and they were also joined by Max Homa.
World number one Scottie Scheffler posted one of the rounds of the day, shooting a final-round 67 to catapult himself into 23rd position after almost missing the cut on Friday.
Darren Plant
