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Brian Harman's win at the 2023 Open Championship was a dominant one. He finished with a score of -13, six shots clear of the second-placed finishers. However, Harman's journey has one particular highlight that he treasures - his win over Rickie Fowler in 2009.
This win came when Harman was a senior playing for Georgia. During the NCAA Championship, Georgia was up against nation No. 1 Oklahoma State University. With both ranked first in their colleges, the deciding match was held between Rickie Fowler and Brian Harman.
Fowler led by one shot at the 14th hole of the tournament. On the 16th hole, Harman went on to make a birdie but so did Fowler. On the penultimate hole, however, Brian Harman's birdie went through while Fowler's did not. Now even going into the 18th hole, the pressure was on.
However, Harman drained his four-foot birdie to take a historic win at the 2009 NCAA Championship. Commenting on his victory, he said (via the PGA Tour Twitter handle):
"It is one of the greatest moments of my life, to be honest with you, it was the turning point. It was when my golf career went from rock bottom to on the way up and to where I am now."
Brian Harman's win over Rickie Fowler kickstarted his golf career
This win was exactly what Brian Harman needed to give his career a boost. He participated in his first major at the 2012 US Open and won for the first time on the PGA Tour at the 2014 John Deere Classic.
Highlighting the importance of the win, he said:
"My entire junior year I didn't play well. I was supposed to be the leader of the team and just wasn't in a good frame of mind. And winning that match was the culmination of me working hard and getting back to where I thought I should be."
In 2017 Harman won the Wells Fargo Championship over Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez. His notable putting skills were the highlight of his 2023 Open Championship campaign. He became only the third left-handed golfer to win the Open Championship after Phil Mickelson and Bob Charles.
