The Open 2023 LIVE: Final round golf leaderboard and updates as Brian Harman cruises to victory
Harman produced a composed final round to hold off the likes of Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood to win the 2023 Open Championship at Hoylake
Brian Harman won The Open in style as a nerveless final round saw him turn his healthy overnight lead into a convincing victory for his first major title.
The 36-year-old American won by six strokes after shooting a one-under-par final round of 70 in soggy conditions at Royal Liverpool to finish 13-under for the tournament.
His overnight lead of five strokes was never truly threatened and, in the end, there was a four-way tie for second place between Jon Rahm (70), Jason Day (69), Sepp Straka (69) and 21-year-old Tom Kim (67).
Home favourites Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy showed flashes of what they were capable of and looked set to close the gap on a couple of occasions but eventually fell away in the face of Harman’s mistake-free golf. His win was built on keeping his ball out of the bunkers and his brilliance on and around the greens. He missed just one putt under 10 feet all week on the Hoylake links to deservedly lift the Claret Jug.
Follow reaction from the fourth round of the 151st Open Championship at Hoylake below:
The Open 2023: More misses for Straka and Fleetwood
Straka -7 (15), Fleetwood -6 (15)
Tommy is drenched in this rain but he continues to battle away on the par five. It’s another good look at birdie...not to be. He remains at -6 and that feels like that for the Englishman.
Straka sees his birdie effort whisk by and remains at -7.
The Open 2023: Harman’s lead drops to four after bogey
Harman -11 (13), Young -5 (13)
Young continues to come up short with his putting efforts as another fine iron into the par-3 13th goes unrewarded.
Harman goes long with his effort off the tee and his chip back across the green gives him some work to do. He’s been ramming them in from this range all day but it goes by the hole this time! He’s back down to -11 as his lead is cut to four.
The Open 2023: Rahm back to -7
Rahm -7 (13)
Well, could that be the start of something? A dart of an iron into the par-three 13th and the Spaniard makes no mistake to get back to -7 for the day. Still five holes to go - can he get to -10?
The Open 2023: Kim into second
Kim -7 (15)
Kim is one of few to take advantage of the par-five 15th with a supreme wedge into the green setting up another birdie look. He rolls it in and the Korean is up into second alongside Straka.
The Open 2023: Big finish needed from Rahm
Rahm -6 (12)
Yesterday the Spaniard went on a tear down the back nine but in tougher conditions today, it’s just not happening as he makes another par.
The Open 2023: Huge miss for Fleetwood
Straka -7 (14), Fleetwood -6 (14)
My, oh my, Tommy. That just has to drop. Simple as. The Englishman fires a wonderful iron approach into the 14th and has just six feet for his birdie. It’s a nervy stroke, though, and it misses on the right side.
There’s a sole “C’mon Tommy” from the crowd but it does look like the life has been sucked out of his tournament.
The Open 2023: Homa with clubhouse lead
Homa -4 (69)
A really solid round of golf from the American whose two-under-par round of 69 moves him inside the top ten as things stand. That will give him his best major championship finish and much needed after his disappointing missed cut at the US Open last week.
The Open 2023: Steady stuff from Harman
Harman -12 (11), Young -5 (11)
Another hole, another par and that will do just perfectly for Harman. Cam Young, however, needs to make a move but sees another birdie chance go begging. Not his day today.
The Open 2023: Bogey for McIlroy
McIlroy -5 (16), Grillo -6 (16)
That somewhat typifies Rory’s week. An iron leaks left at the 16th and falls into the run-off area. From there, he can’t convince himself to hit the putt hard enough and his remaining effort for par cruelly lips out having done a 360 of the hole.
A wry smile from the Northern Irishman as he walks off with a bogey and back to -5. Grillo makes his par to remain at -6.
The Open 2023: Missed birdie chance for Straka
Straka -7 (13), Fleetwood -6 (13)
The Austrian is giving himself a lot of looks at birdie as he makes the turn but his latest effort from 18 feet just dies to the left at the end. So close yet so far.
Fleetwood cuts an increasingly frustrated figure as he has to settle for another par.
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