It wasn't quite wire to wire, but the 2023 Open Championship had that type of feel to it.
Brian Harman left Royal Liverpool Golf Club on Friday as the leader after finishing tied for fourth after Round 1 and taking a five-stroke lead out of the second round. He put together another impressive performance on Saturday at 2 under.
Etched into history forever.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
Brain Harman collects the most iconic trophy in golf. pic.twitter.com/N1a585Hkvp
And nothing changed on Sunday. Harman posted a steady performance in Round 4, finishing 1 under, as he kept the field well away from his lead, leading to the 36-year-old's first major championship in his career.
"I gotta thank my wife, my family back home, I sure miss them and I can't wait to get back to them tomorrow. First, I'm going to have me a couple pints out of this here trophy, I believe," Harman said in his speech. "This golf course was a real test. It was set up so great even with the weather, so to all, the superintendent and everyone that helped put it together, the greens were perfect, golf course was excellent. Thank you."
Mastery of the elements.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
Brian Harman claims a supreme six stroke victory at Hoylake.
A magnificent performance. pic.twitter.com/Ic3HRsF5my
Harman got off to a relatively slow start on Sunday, going 2 under across his first five holes. But just when it seemed he would give way, he went right back to extending his advantage. He followed up a bogey on the fifth hole with back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh. And after a bogey on the 13th, he had two more birdies and three straight par to win the major.
MORE: What to know about Open Championship winner Brian Harman
The fourth round saw several golfers that got off to cold starts finish the tournament strong. Jason Day, Tom Kim, Sepp Straka and Jon Rahm all began the tournament at or above par, with Kim and Rahm having begun the tournament 3 over. But all four capped off their tournaments with strong performances, with each going under par on Sunday to tie for second, led by an outstanding 4 under by Kim.
The Sporting News tracked updates, highlights and results from the climax of the Open Championship 2023.
MORE: Who is Shubhankar Sharma? Indian golfer who is making heads turn at The Open
Open Championship leaderboard 2023
Click here for full LIVE Open Championship leaderboard
| Player | Overall score | Sunday score (hole) |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Harman | -13 | -1 (F) |
| Sepp Straka | -7 | -2 (F) |
| Tom Kim | -7 | -4 (F) |
| Jason Day | -7 | -2 (F) |
| Jon Rahm | -7 | -1 (F) |
| Rory McIlroy | -6 | -3 (F) |
| Emiliano Grillo | -6 | -3 (F) |
| Shubhankar Sharma | -5 | -1 (F) |
| Cameron Young | -5 | +2 (F) |
| Max Homa | -4 | -2 (F) |
| Matthew Jordan | -4 | -1 (F) |
| Tommy Fleetwood | -4 | +1 (F) |
Open Championship 2023 live updates, highlights from Sunday's Round 4
All times BST
6:19 p.m.: Harman seals the win with a putt for par, claiming his first major championship victory.
6:18 p.m.: Young ends what has been a rough Round 4 on a high note. After four bogeys, he ends the day with his second birdie to move up to a tie for eighth with Shubhankar Sharma.
6:10 p.m.: Rahm ends his afternoon with an impressive putt for birdie, jumping all the way up to a tie for second at 7 under. It was an up-and-down round for Rahm, who had three birdies and two bogeys, but an impressive bounceback nonetheless after a less-than-ideal first two rounds at the Open Championship.
Jon Rahm finishes with a flurry.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
The Masters winner takes a share of second place. @MercedesBenz pic.twitter.com/rwFRWgADgD
6:03 p.m.: Par for Day on the 18, and he finishes at 7 under. Rahm, who is still approaching the green on the 18th, is the only golfer besides Harman still playing in the top five.
6 p.m.: Harman makes par on the 17th. With a six-stroke lead over Day, Kim and Straka, this one appears to be all but over.
5:53 p.m.: Fleetwood bounced back after the dreadful 17th hole to birdie the 18th and move back into the top 10.
5:52 p.m.: Harman comes up with par on the 16th as he continues to play it safe and keep himself well ahead of the field. Straka misses the putt for birdie on the 18th, and will have to settle for par, ending his day at 7 under.
5:38 p.m.: Make it back-to-back birdies by Harman as he sinks the mid-range putt on the 15th. He's now leading Straka by five. Straka has just the 18th hole left.
5:36 p.m.: Devastating 17th hole for Tommy Fleetwood as he comes away with a triple bogey to drop from a tie for fifth all the way to 13th.
5:32 p.m.: Kim's birdie putt on the 18th comes up short and he settles for par. Kim finishes the Open Championship tied for third with Day at 7 under.
5:23 p.m.: Straka is keeping the pressure on Harman as he's moved up to sole possession of second with a birdie on the 16 to stay four strokes behind Harman. Straka has two more holes left, while Harman has four remaining.
5:21 p.m.: Harman follows up his bogey on the at the 13 with a birdie on the 14. An impressive approach and putt to push himself another stroke up on the field.
5:20 p.m.: Jason Day continues his ascent up the leaderboard. He birdies the 15th to move into a tie with Kim and Straka for second. He's shot 2 under on Sunday.
5:19 p.m.: Harman has made par on the 14th hole each round so far, and with a great approach shot in Round 4, he's got another shot at finishing at par or better on the course's most challenging hole.
5:10 p.m.: Grillo's birdie putt on the 18 is just a bit wide, and he'll head to the clubhouse 3 under for the day and 6 under for the tournament. For now, that's good enough to keep him in the top 10. McIlroy will be in the same position after the tap-in for par on the 18.
5:09 p.m.: Straka settles for par as Harman makes a bogey on the 13th hole. Kim, Straka and Rahm are now within four strokes of the leader.
4:58 p.m.: There's the birdie from Rahm, as three golfers are now in the mix at second behind Harman.
4:54 p.m.: Doesn't get much better than the two tee shots from Rahm and Hovland on the 13th. They're both set up for short-range birdie putts after dropping their shots in right next to the hole.
4:52 p.m.: McIlroy makes the long putt for birdie to move back into the top four at 6 under. He's got just one more hole left in his 2023 Open Championship.
4:51 p.m.: Grillo misses another putt for birdie that would have bumped him to second, but Kim makes his as Straka now has company in second place.
Playing with a tear in his ankle, Tom Kim is now in second place in The Open. pic.twitter.com/hccGiB9aZ9
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
4:49 p.m.: Tom Kim sets himself up with a great chance for a birdie on the 13th hole, which would move him up into a tie for second with Straka.
4:43 p.m.: Crushing lip out putt for McIlroy that goes all the way around before trickling back out. He has to make the bogey putt on the 16 as he drops another stroke back. He's had a rough outing after that hot start.
4:42 p.m.: Emiliano Grillo's birdie putt carries just a bit too wide to the right for a chance to move to a tie with Straka for second. Instead, he'll have the narrow putt for par.
4:35 p.m.: Straka makes par on the 13th to keep himself 5 strokes behind Harman. He's also still a stroke over the large group tied for third.
4:29 p.m.: Don't look now, but McIlroy's making another run. Back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th holes move him into a tie for third at 6 under. Harman just misses a putt for birdie on the 10th and takes par.
4:24 p.m.: Rahm has to settle for par on the 10th. Though that keeps him tied for third, he's still six behind Harman, who is putting together a consistent round on Sunday.
4:14 p.m.: Harman comes up just wide of making the birdie putt on the ninth, but he sinks the par easily to stay out in front by five strokes over Straka.
4:09 p.m.: Straka makes his birdie putt on the 11th to stand alone now in second at 7 under.
4:07 p.m.: Rahm misses the putt for par on the ninth hole, and he now falls back into the group of players tied at 6 under. Harman now leads the field by six strokes. He's got 10 holes left to finish.
3:57 p.m.: The birdie putt from Rahm is just off to the left. He has to settle for par, as the gap between he and Harman stays at five.
3:56 p.m.: McIlroy just misses his attempt at birdie on the 13th hole. After a hot start to his day, he's gone 1 over over his past eight holes.
3:51 p.m.: Perfect shot by Rahm from the grass on the eighth to give him a chance for birdie. After Harman birdied the seventh, Rahm could really use the birdie to stay in the hunt with the leader going 2 under over his past two shots.
Back-to-back birdies for Brian Harman.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
Superb mental resilience. He restores a five stroke advantage.
Follow live on https://t.co/uD88irbPY5. pic.twitter.com/G0XufExpMp
3:39 p.m.: There's now some company with Rahm at second as Sepp Straka gets the birdie putt on the ninth to fall, his third birdie of the day. He's now 7 under for the tournament and 2 under for the day.
3:37 p.m.: Harman snaps his two-bogey run with a birdie on the sixth to move back to a four-stroke lead over Rahm.
3:28 p.m.: The par putt attempt from Harman on the fifth hole carries wide, and now he's up only three strokes over Rahm, who sinks the par attempt on the sixth hole.
3:22 p.m.: Harman takes the unplayable lie, but makes up for it with a strong shot up the green to set himself up for a chance at par on the fifth hole.
3:19 p.m.: Backwards cap on, Rahm sinks a birdie on the fifth to move into second at 7 under. McIlroy goes just wide on the 10th and will settle for the bogey, his first going over par for the day.
3:15 p.m.: Harman's tee shot on the fifth heads into the bushes. That could be another problem for the Open Championship leader on the par-5 hole.
3:05 p.m.: McIlroy's putt for a birdie on the ninth goes just a bit wide left. He'll be staying in the ever-growing group of players tied for second at 6 under, while Harman sets himself up for his first real shot at birdie on the par-4 fourth.
2:55 p.m.: Harman is back in some more trouble on the third hole. He has another approach shot from some thick grass. The shot carries a bit past the hole, but it does set him up with a shot to save par.
2:43 p.m.: Harman bogeys his second hole of the day as he gets one shot closer to the rest of the field. He's at 1 over now for the day.
2:27 p.m.: Long putt for birdie for Brian Harman goes just wide left, and he'll have to settle for par to start his afternoon.
2:25 p.m.: Cameron Young's chip shot on the first hole can't make it over the hill, and he needs a second shot to approach. He'll settle for a bogey to start his day as he drops into a tie with McIlroy and Rahm for second at 6 under.
2:11 p.m.: McIlroy's putting game is on fire as he sinks a 15-footer at the fourth to pick up another birdie. He's now five under overall.
As for Fitzpatrick, he drops a shot on the second, undoing his good work from the opening hole birdie.
1:49 p.m.: What a start for Alex Fitzpatrick! He sinks a huge 70-foot putt on the opening hole for birdie to move to five under.
1:35 p.m.: Rory McIlroy begins his final round with pars on the first two holes. There's a great crowd and atmosphere following him around, unsurprisingly, despite the awful rainy conditions right now.
Elsewhere, birdies at 4, 5, 9 and 12 has seen Laurie Canter move up the standings to -2.
The rain continues in Hoylake.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
Our leaders are about to tee off.
Will anyone catch Brian Harman? #NTTDATAWALL pic.twitter.com/lWPIX1CzBL
1:15 p.m.: Scheffler finishes level for the tournament with a final round of 67.
Koepka's poor tournament comes to a close with a bogey and ends on on eight over.
12:50 p.m.: Stewart Cink is on the move as he gets to two-under overall after a 17-foot birdie putt on the fifth.
He follows that up with a birdie putt on the next, this time from eight foot, and he's now tied 11th.
12:26 p.m.: Scheffler birdies the par-five 15th and then follows up with a par.
Koepka bogeys the 15th to slip to seven-over.
Plenty of big names now getting underway too which we'll be keeping an eye out for including, Patrick Reed, Cameron Smith, Xander Schaufele, Patrick Cantlay and Jordan Spieth.
11:50 a.m.: Bogey for Scheffler on 13! He narrowly misses an 11-foot putt to fall back to one over. His shot off the tee saw his ball land in the crowd but his hard work to recover from that wayward effort comes undone on the green.
Elsewhere, Lamprecht, who was joint-leader after the first round, finishes his tournament on 11 under. The South African will pick up the silver medal for being the leading amateur.
Willett heads to the clubhouse on nine-under after hitting a birdie on 18.
11:10 a.m.: Koepka drops a shot on the 10th but has the chance to make amends with a birdie putt on the next hole. His effort from 33ft falls just short.
His playing partner Scheffler shows him how it's done though as he moves to level par with his fourth birdie of the day.
10:35 a.m.: As Scheffler approaches the turn, he's recorded pars on six, seven and eight.
In other news, former Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has made an appearance on the course. Although, he's very much here as a spectator and not playing...as much as he'd probably like to!
10:14 a.m.: Adam Scott hits a glorious bunker shot on hole four for EAGLE!
We've not had any this tournament and now we've seen Scheffler and Scott both hit them in the space of a couple of hours.
Up against the face.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
No problem for Adam Scott. pic.twitter.com/8nDe5xaFPh
10 a.m.: World No.1 Scheffler moves to one over now with a third birdie in five holes this morning.
Koepka moves to five over with a birdie of his own on the fifth.
9:32 a.m.: Padraig Harrington is up to six over having birdied the fourth and fifth holes, recovering from three opening bogeys.
Scheffler's strong start continues, sinking a 47-foot putt on the third hole to record his second birdie of the round. He's now +2 overall.
9 a.m.: Forget birdies, Bryson DeChambeau plays a lovely opening drive to set up an EAGLE effort from 27 feet on hole four and sinks the putt!
A 367 yard drive. A 27 foot putt.
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 23, 2023
Bryson DeChambeau with the first eagle of the week on the drivable 4th hole. pic.twitter.com/upTK4DntUQ
Elsewhere, Scheffler is off to a flyer, chipping in from 48 yards to start with a birdie.
8:45 a.m.: No birdies so far in the early stages. Brooks Kopeka and Scottie Scheffler are about to tee off and will hope to change that. The pair both sit on four over par after three rounds.
8:15 a.m.: We're underway on the final day of action as Christo Lamprecht and 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett begin their opening shots from the tee.
Here's a full rundown of today's tee times.
8 a.m.: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' coverage of the final day of the 151st edition of the Open Championship.
American Brian Harman holds a five-shot lead ahead of the final day of play. Compatriot Cameron Young is his nearest contender at the start of the fourth round, on seven under, with Jon Rahm a shot further behind after posting a Royal Liverpool course-record 63 on Saturday.
How to watch Open Championship 2023 in the UK
For the 2023 edition of the Open Championship, Sky Sports hold exclusive rights for all live coverage in the UK. The interrupted action can be caught from around 6:30 a.m. each day on the Sky Sports Golf channel. It will also be available on the Sky Sports Main Event channel before coverage of the fourth test of the Ashes commences each day at around 10 a.m.
- Dates: July 20-23
- TV channels: Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Golf
How to watch Open Championship 2023 in USA
The NBC family of networks will once again carry all live coverage of the Open Championship. The first two rounds will be carried on USA Network and on Peacock. NBC will have coverage of the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday, with USA Network handling the morning rounds.
- Dates: July 20-23
- TV: NBC, USA Network
Open Championship live streams in USA
Viewers will have several options to stream the tournament. Peacock, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will have streaming options available, as will Fubo, which offers a free trial and carries both USA Network and NBC.
| Date | Time (ET) | Channel |
| Saturday, July 22 | 5-7 a.m. | USA Network, Fubo |
| 7 a.m.-3 p.m. | NBC, Peacock, Fubo | |
| Sunday, July 23 | 4-7 a.m. | USA Network, Fubo |
| 7 a.m.-2 p.m. | NBC, Peacock, Fubo |
MORE: 2023 Open Championship TV schedule
Open Championship live streams in the UK
For those who will stream the event, all the action can be found on the SkyGo app, whilst passes for Sky Sports events can also be purchased through NowTV.
The BBC will also show highlights both on BBC2 and online each evening of the same day's play.
- Live streams: SkyGo, NowTV
Open Championship odds 2023
Rory McIlroy opened as the 2023 Open Championship favorite, with +750 odds to win. He was just ahead of Scottie Scheffler (+900), Jon Rahm (+1200) and last year's champion Cameron Smith (+1600), per odds from BetMGM.
Here's how the lowest odds looked before the start of this year's tournament.
| Golfer | Odds |
| Rory McIlroy | +750 |
| Scottie Scheffler | +900 |
| Jon Rahm | +1200 |
| Cameron Smith | +1600 |
| Brooks Koepka | +1800 |
| Jordan Spieth | +2000 |
| Rickie Fowler | +2000 |
| Viktor Hovland | +2000 |
| Patrick Cantlay | +2200 |
| Xander Schauffele | +2200 |
| Collin Morikawa | +2500 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +2500 |
| Dustin Johnson | +2800 |
| Shane Lowry | +2800 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +2800 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +3000 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | +4000 |
| Cameron Young | +4000 |
| Justin Rose | +4000 |
| Tony Finau | +4500 |
| Justin Thomas | +5000 |
| Max Homa | +5000 |
| Min Woo Lee | +5000 |
| Wyndham Clark | +5000 |
| Hideki Matsuyama | +5500 |
| Adam Scott | +6600 |
| Jason Day | +6600 |
| Tom Kim | +6600 |
| Sungjae Im | +6600 |
| Louis Oosthuizen | +8000 |
| Patrick Reed | +8000 |
| Sam Burns | +8000 |
| Talor Gooch | +8000 |
| Branden Grace | +9000 |
| Corey Conners | +9000 |
| Keegan Bradley | +9000 |