Post by Sea Island Mafia on Apr 14, 2016 17:28:08 GMT
Let's try to keep this thread under 10 pages, please.
Posted April 14, 2016 08:07 am - Updated April 14, 2016 08:50 am
By Nathan Deen
nathan.deen@savannahnow.com
GOLF: Savannah's Brian Harman ready for Harbour Town
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – There’s at least one thing Savannah native Brian Harman has learned about winning on the PGA Tour.
“It’s really hard to do,” he said. “You can count on one hand the amount of guys who win multiple tournaments in one year. Every week, someone’s going to have the best week they’ve ever had, and you have to figure out how to beat them.”
It’s coming up on two years since Harman broke through with his first Tour victory at the John Deere Classic, and he’s still searching for his second.
(Coincidentally, Nicklaus never won the Deere Classic -- admitting in his bio that winning the 'fifth major' is his lone career regret)
Sure, a lot of great things come with winning — an invitations to a year’s worth of majors and a two-year exemption on his Tour status.
But that well has nearly run dry as Harman gets set to tee it up this week at Harbour Town Golf Links, the site of the RBC Heritage and the closest Tour event to where Harman grew up. He’ll start his first round today at 7:50 a.m.
Winning changes everything about being a pro, and it was a much more difficult adjustment than Harman ever expected. Now, Harman’s career is starting to feel like it was before he won the John Deere.
“I kind of feel like I’m back to square one now to where I don’t have that exemption to fall back on,” he said. “I’m having to work really hard. I worked so hard to get that win, I think mentally I was just kind of drained afterwards.
“I’ve only had a few opportunities to win since then. I’m just working my way back up to competing in golf tournaments. I’m doing OK as far as the tour goes. I’ve made a lot of cuts and had some good finishes here and there, but the reason I play is to try and win tournaments.”
Harman missed the cut in all four of his debuts at the majors, which began with the 2014 Open Championship and concluded with the 2015 U.S. Open.
Harman is now looking for a way to get to compete in majors again. A win this week at Harbour Town would go a long way toward doing that. Harman will need to crack the top 50 in the official world golf rankings list to earn a spot at the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. He currently ranks 113th.
Another thing Harman will be looking for this week is the elusive low number his game has been missing. When Harman won the John Deere, he opened with an 8-under 63 on his way to tournament total of 22-under 262. But he hasn’t shot anything lower than a 65 this season and has only posted that number twice.
“I’m just missing those hot days I would have when I would go out and shoot 7 or 8 under par. I haven’t had a lot of really low rounds in the last seven or eight months. The golf courses seem to be getting tougher and tougher; it’s tough to take one deep anymore.”
Next stage of life
Something else Harman has learned is as life on the Tour changes, so does life away from it. In 2014, he celebrated his win with his wife Kelly, who at the time was his fiancé. The next year, they got married, which changed everything about how he traveled.
“It’s a whole lot more enjoyable. I think people would be shocked at how un-mesmerizing life on the road can be. Lot of solitude. Lot of sitting in hotel rooms by yourself. My wife Kelly comes to about 80 percent of the tournaments now. Makes life on the road a whole lot easier.”
So what’s in store this year?
Kelly probably won’t be able to go to as many tournaments. She’s expected to deliver the couple’s first child in mid-June. A boy. Richard Seve Harman.
“Life is certainly going to change when the baby come,” Harman said. “Life is going to be very challenging, especially on the road, but we’re going to handle it. We’re going to do our best to be good parents.”
Harman currently resides on St. Simons Island and is set on raising his family there. He and Kelly are building their first home, which is expected to be completed in February.
“I’ve never owned a home before,” he said. “I didn’t’ move at all as a kid. I kind of want that same thing for when we have kids – have a home and stay there.”
Here to stay
Harman said he’s already gotten plenty of advice from his PGA Tour elders, from everything on handling himself on the course to everything to expect off it. That’s been an encouragement to him and a sign the former Georgia Bulldog is accepted on tour.
“Everyone’s been very forthcoming,” he said. “It’s like a fraternity out here. You’ve got to earn your stripes, but once you’re in and they know you’re going to be around for a while, they’ll help me out.”
Still, if the first win announces your arrival, the second tells the world you’re here to stay. That’s an idea Harman would like to cement this week.
