WATCH: Defending champion Brian Harman’s tee shot crosses the burn while rolling around a 100 yards
Last year, Brian Harman had one of the best moments of his life at the Royal Troon Golf Club. Harman, 37, beat the likes of Jason Day, Tom Kim, Jon Rahm, and Sepp Straka to win The Open Championship 2023. This victory at the Royal Troon remains Harman's sole Major.
While many expected to see Harman defend his title in The Open Championship 2024, he does not seem to be in a position to do so. After three rounds, Harman is tied for 61st place.
However, he did have one great moment in Round 4. The defending champion's tee shot crossed the burn while rolling around 100 yards on the par-4 3rd hole. Harman hit a beautiful tee shot from which the ball landed and rolled on for around 100 yards. While it was rolling, the ball crossed a bridge over the burn, giving Harman a great start on the third hole.
You can check out the footage of Brian Harman's tee shot crossing the burn in the video below, shared by the X (formerly twitter) account of The Open:
At the time of writing, Harman has played 8 holes in Round 4 of the Open Championship, registering a score of 4-over. While the question of retaining his title at Royal Troon seems to be out of sight, it will be interesting to see what place he does finish in.
Brian Harman described The Open Championship trophy as "the coolest ever."
Before Brian Harman could get swinging at the Royal Troon Golf Club, one of his first duties was to return the Claret Jug, which recognizes "the Champion Golfer of the Year." Harman, ahead of the 2024 edition, presented the Claret Jug to the Chief Executive Officer of The R&A, Martin Slumbers.
The Open Championship 2023 winner also expressed his thoughts about the iconic trophy. While he praised the Claret Jug, he also expressed his sadness about having to return it. Harman commented on the trophy and said (via the PGA Tour news service):
"In my opinion, it's the coolest trophy in all of sports," Brian Harman said. "So I think it's deserving of all of the pageantry that's involved with it. A little sad to give it back, but I’ll remember everywhere it’s been forever. I’m happy to give it back, happy to be here. Ready to get going."
You can see the moment Harman returned the Claret Jug to The R&A CEO Martin Slumbers in the tweet below:
While Harman is far from the lead of The Open Championship 2024, it will be interesting to see who wins this year's edition of the tournament. The likes of Billy Horschel, Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele, and a few others are favorites to win the Claret Jug this year.