Brian Harman quickly shuts down reporter's 'dreadful' nickname suggestion

Brian Harman took the 36-hole lead at the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool but he was quick to dismiss a potential nickname.

Ben Smith

21 Jul 2023

Brian Harman quickly shuts down reporter's 'dreadful' nickname suggestion

Brian Harman told reporters the 'dreadful' nickname 'Harmanator' is not going to stick after he posted a flawless 65 to take the halfway lead at the 2023 Open Championship.

American Harman, 36, tore round Royal Liverpool and fired a warning shot to the field with a glorious eagle finish after smashing a drive and lacing a perfect 5-iron into the green.

Open Championship 2023 live leaderboard

He was particularly emphatic on the front nine, carding four consecutive birdies in a row from the second hole.

To illustrate how hot his putter was, statistics show he gained more than 8.33 strokes against the field in the putting department.

Harman made seven pars in a row from the turn before holing his eagle putt in front of a packed grandstand.

It meant that he was five strokes clear of England's Tommy Fleetwood before the Englishman began his second round.

"I've had a hot putter the last couple days so [I am going to] try to ride it through the weekend," Harman said.

A reporter told Harman one of his buddies had texted him a potential nickname: the Harmanator. Does he like that? Will that stick?

Not according to Harman, who said:

"That's dreadful. Dreadful. You don't get to pick your own nicknames, but that one is not going to stick."

Not since the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship has Harman tasted victory. In the years since he has held the 54-hole lead at a U.S. Open but his challenge faded.

"I just probably thought about it too much," he said. "Just didn't focus on getting sleep and eating right. So that would be my focus this weekend."

Harman is indeed in a very good spot. His 36-hole total of 132 matches the lowest in Open history.

The other players card that score? Tiger Woods in 2006 and Rory McIlroy in 2014. Both at Royal Liverpool.

Prodigious.
Brian Harman signs off with an eagle for a superb 65.
He leads by five shots. pic.twitter.com/a3u2j36SGn
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 21, 2023