Harman: 'I've got a lot of layers, man. I'm like an onion'

36-year-old Brian Harman is looking forward to flying back to the United States before taking delivery of a new tractor at his 40-acre farm and mowing the grass.

OPEN CHAMPION: Brian Harman kisses the Claret Jug after winning The Open at Royal Liverpool. Pic: David Davies/PA Wire.

Brian Harman will celebrate his Open Championship much like he conquered Royal Liverpool this weekend, in his own way.

The American from Savannah, Georgia, cruised to a six-shot victory at the 151st Open on Sunday, extending the five-shot cushion he had enjoyed after both the second and third rounds, with a near flawless performance in persistent rain and sometimes gusting wind on the Wirral Peninsula to hold off Masters champion Jon Rahm of Spain, Korea’s Tom Kim, Austrian Sepp Straka and Australia’s Jason Day with a closing one-under-par 70 to reach 13 under par and equal Rory McIlroy’s winning total of 271 at the same course in 2014.

Now the 36-year-old is looking forward to flying back to the United States before taking delivery of a new tractor at his 40-acre farm and mowing the grass.

“I had a nice week a couple weeks ago and I bought a new tractor for my hunting place, so I'll get home and I'll be on the tractor mowing grass in the next few weeks, so I'm excited about that,” Harman said of his celebrations plans.

“Yeah. Just put my phone away and go get on the tractor. I haven't seen it yet. It's on order. It's a 105 horse Kybota tractor and it's going to be a pretty one… Orange.

“I haven't told my wife how much I spent on it yet.” 

“We've got about 25 acres of food plots that need, and, gosh, I don't know how many miles of roads, but I'd call it probably 40 acres total that needs to get mowed.

Harman had shown little animation has he plotted his path to victory but had spoken about his love of bow hunting and when pressed on his looking forward to mowing grass on his new tractor, he added: “I've got a lot of layers, man. I'm like an onion.

“My family is up at a lake house in upstate New York, so I'm going to get there tomorrow evening and I'll spend three days with them, and we'll do some fishing and I'll get to spend some good family time. So that's where I'll disappear, and take it from there.” Harman was justified in being proud of the manner of his performance over four days and the way he managed the difficult conditions and rebounded from early bogeys in his third and fourth rounds.

“I'm over the moon. It was a tough last three days, really was. Being able to get some sleep was big last night. Sleeping on a lead like that is really difficult, so glad of the way I hung in there the last couple days.

“Got off to a bad start both days and turned it around, so really happy with that.” 

Harman had played the Scottish Open last week and described Scotland as having the worst weather in the world. After a day of downpours on Merseyside, he was asked if he wanted to review his opinion.

“You know, yesterday was supposed to be terrible, and I got out and the weather turned and it was fantastic weather, all things considered, yesterday.

“Then today I'm looking at the forecast, and I'm like, what the hell do they know, and I get out here and it's Armageddon. It was bad. It was really tough.

“I haven't historically done very good in the rain. It's just always bugged me. I was really proud of the way that I struck the ball in the rain today.”