Brian Harman

Residence: St. Simons Island, Georgia
Age: 36
World Ranking: 9
Ryder Cup ranking: 4
Ryder Cup appearances: Making debut

When Brian Harman lifted the Claret Jug last month at Royal Liverpool, one of the first people to greet the newly-minted Open champion was U.S. Ryder Cup Captain Zach Johnson.

At the time, Harman’s maiden major triumph hadn’t quite cemented a place on Johnson’s 12-man squad – but with Harman rising to third in points, he was about as close as any non-lock could be.

“What happens next, Zach?” Harman, with a huge grin, said to Johnson that rainy Sunday in Hoylake, England.

“You’re good,” Johnson said, umbrella in hand. “Just keep doing what you’re doing.”

Johnson was right. A few weeks later and Harman is now officially a Ryder Cup rookie, joining World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark as players who have already clinched spots on the U.S. Team.

“Zach is a great friend, and when he let me know that I was officially a member of the U.S. Team, I was truly humbled,” Harman said. “I've loved my experiences competing as a part of a team, and I'll bring that passion to the U.S. Team and the Ryder Cup in Rome in September. I'm ready to get to work.”

I'm ready to get to work.— Brian Harman

Added Johnson: “What an amazing performance Brian put on at Royal Liverpool and The Open Championship. It shows the world what a lot of us already knew, that Brian is one of the best players in the world. Brian is one of my favorite people on the PGA Tour, and I know he's ready and excited to help the U.S. Team in Rome.”

Harman has been waiting his whole career for this moment. He won the U.S. Junior Amateur in 2003 before becoming, at the time, the youngest American to ever make the 10-man U.S. Walker Cup team. Harman followed that 2005 Walker Cup debut with a second Walker Cup berth in 2009; the U.S. won both of those Cups. Harman was also a three-time, second-team All-American at the University of Georgia, which he led to the semifinals of the 2009 NCAA Championship, the first national championship to feature match play as the title decider. Harman went 1-0-1 that week in Toledo, Ohio.

But upon turning pro, Harman mostly struggled to replicate that kind of success. He twice failed to get through Q-School, and though he’s been a card-carrying PGA Tour member for 11 straight years now, until his Open triumph, Harman had won a pair of times on Tour but never really factored at the big events save for holding – and ultimately surrendering – the 54-hole lead at the 2017 U.S. Open.

So, when a fan during Saturday’s third round at Royal Liverpool shouted at Harman, “You don’t have the stones for this,” surely Harman, who was starting to give away shots, became unnerved? Well, not exactly.

“That helped,” Harman later said after blitzing the field by six.

“I’ve always had self-belief that I could do something like this,” Harman added. “But when it takes so much time, it’s hard not to let your mind falter, like maybe I’m not winning again. I’m 36 years old. The game is getting younger. All these young guys coming out, they hit it a mile, and they’re all ready to win. Like: When is it going to be my turn again? It’s been hard to deal with. There’s a lot of times when you get done, and you’re like … Man, I had that one. It just didn’t happen for whatever reason.”

This time, however, it did.

And Captain Johnson couldn’t be more thrilled.

What Harman Brings to the Team

Want to know just what type of player Harman it? Take it from Johnson, who said this to reporters at Hoylake: “He is a very formidable competitor, No. 1. No. 2, hey, what does Brian Harman do really well? Well, he does everything quite well. He's a very good driver of the golf ball and a very, very, very good putter. Then if everything else is good, then it can be pretty lethal.”

Potential Partnerships

Harman isn’t your average rookie. As the British fans heckled him, Mother Nature rained on him and commentators reminded him of just how historic a potential collapse would be, Harman never let go of his commanding final-round lead at The Open. The Dawg just doesn’t rattle, so don’t expect Johnson to pair Harman with someone just for the sake of calming Harman’s nerves. Harman’s accuracy off the tee and deft putter could be huge in foursomes for a teammate who is an elite iron player but maybe struggles finding fairways and getting putts to fall.

Career Ryder Cup Highlight

When Harman makes his Ryder Cup debut next month, there’s a chance he’ll be teammates with Rickie Fowler. Back at the 2009 NCAA Championship, though, Harman and Fowler were adversaries, squaring off in the anchor match as No. 1 Georgia took on No. 2 Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals. Fowler led late, but on the 15th hole, after Harman rolled in an 8-footer to remain 1 down, Fowler apparently fired up the Bulldog by walking off the green and leaving Harman to put the flag back in. Harman then told Georgia head coach Chris Haack, “I’m about to light this guy up.” And he did, birdieing each of the final three holes, winning the match and sending Fowler, in his last college event, to the locker room.