Weekly Read Fore! Things: Inside the Numbers From Brian Harman's British Open Victory

Harman came out of nowhere to dominate the Open, but expect to hear more from him this fall.

Some numbers as we wrap up the 2023 British Open:

More from the British Open edition of the Weekly Read: Zach Johnson's Ryder Cup Dilemma | PGA Tour-LIV Drama Set to Resume | FedEx Cup Countdown | Fore! Things

Fore! Things

1. Harman’s victory at the Open came in his 30th major start, with his best previous finish a tie for second at the 2017 U.S. Open, won by Brooks Koepka. It was one of just two top-10 finishes Harman had posted in majors before Sunday.

2. Harman is now a virtual lock to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team, having moved to third place in the standings with the top six through the BMW Championship automatically qualifying.

3. Rory McIlroy has played in 35 major championships since winning the 2014 PGA for his fourth title (he missed the ’15 Open with an injury) and now has 20 top-20 finishes without a victory.

4. Justin Thomas is one of the five top-30 players in the OWGR who is playing this week’s 3M Championship outside of Minneapolis, the second-to-last event in the PGA Tour’s regular season. Scott, surprisingly, is not playing. He is also outside of the top 70 in FedEx points and will have to get it done at the Wyndham Championship next week.

Fore! More Things

1. Scottie Scheffler’s tie for 23rd at the Open was his worst worldwide finish since a tie for 45th at the CJ Cup. His previous worst finish this year was a tie for 12th at the Genesis Invitational.

2. It was a quiet week for the LIV Golf League players who had performed so well in the previous three majors. Koepka won the PGA after tying for second with Mickelson at the Masters. Smith finished fourth at the U.S. Open, and Dustin Johnson tied for 10th. Others such as Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed had fared well. But former Open champ Henrik Stenson was low LIV player with a tie for 11th. Two others, Laurie Canter and Louis Oosthuizen, finished in the top 25. Koepka tied for 64, and Johnson missed the cut.

3. Rahm’s 63 on Saturday at Royal Liverpool was the 14th score of 63 or better in Open history and first since Lowry at Royal Portrush in 2019. Branden Grace has the Open record and set the major championship record of 62 in ’17 at Royal Birkdale. Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele matched the major record with 62s at the U.S. Open.

4. There are 31 days until the first round of the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship. And there are 67 days until the first session of the Ryder Cup in Italy.