How Open Champion Brian Harman closed out strong at 56th RBC Heritage

HILTON HEAD, S.C. — A tough week by the high standards of Open Champion Brian Harman ended on a high note Sunday as the left-hander fired a 7-under par 64 at Harbour Town Golf Links in the final round of the 56th annual RBC Heritage Golf Tournament.

This week marked the 20th anniversary of Harman's PGA debut at Harbour Town when he played as a junior at Savannah Christian Prep on a sponsor's exemption after winning the U.S. Junior Amateur title the summer before.

Harman started the tournament with a 70 on Thursday, but had a bad taste in his mouth after bogeying the 17th hole and taking a double on No. 18. He shot 69 and 70 on Friday and Saturday before finding his groove Sunday as he shot up the leaderboard with a round that included eight birdies and just one bogey on the 11th hole. Harman was in a tie for 15th place, after starting the day tied for 45th.

His iron game was spot on as he was dialed in all day with his approach shots. He made a birdie putt of 19 feet in the par-4 13th hole, but every other birdie putt was from eight feet or less. He laced his approach from 195 yards on the par-4 third hole to within three feet of the cup.

Harman said he thought it his best score ever at Harbour Town, and he was right. His 64 was his lowest round in 15 appearances at the RBC Heritage. He had shot 65 three previous times, the last in the first round last year when he had his best finish with a tie for seventh. He started off Sunday with birdies on his first three holes.

"Yesterday I got off to a good start. It was just nice to keep going. I had one hiccup there on the back, No. 11, middle of the fairway, made bogey, but got a birdie pretty quick right after it on No. 13, and hit some really good shots coming in," the 37-year old former All-American at Georgia said.

"I'll try to use it as a springboard. I've got two weeks off. I've got a lot of stuff to work on, but nice to put it together for at least a day. Just a frustrating week. It's great to finish off with this one, but I knew the game was there, and I just couldn't get anything going the first three days, but this will make dinner taste a little bit better for sure."

Harman missed the cut in his sixth appearance at the Masters last week, and entered this week at No. 10 in the World Golf Ranking. In a press conference that opened the tournament on Tuesday, he talked about how he needs to stay focused on a patient approach with his game.

"It's hard. It's been a frustrating week because this is one of the places I have circled, that I should really come here and contend every year that I'm playing," Harman said. "It just wasn't my week … But you never know what's going to happen out there. As impatient as I've been all week, it was nice to get in another round and feel some good stuff today.

Harbour Town is known as one of the tougher tracks on the PGA Tour with its small greens and narrow fairways, and Harman knows the course like the back of his hand.

"It just baits you into making bad decisions for sure. You feel like you can attack every pin, but you get on the wrong side of a couple and you get 2- or 3-over par and you start pressing," Harman said. "It's a great golf course. That's what Pete Dye does. He tests your physical skills, your mental skills, and I've always really enjoyed the challenge of this place."

Harman had an army of supporters on the course all week as friends, family and fans cheered him on.

"It is awesome. I probably put a little too much pressure on myself because I want to perform. I want to get in contention here. I want to play well for everyone. But I certainly appreciate the support. It's been awesome," Harman said. "I drove it pretty good, made a couple putts, and you've just got to take what the course gives you. You can't get too aggressive. I just managed my game really well today."

Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Brian Harman fires 7-under par 64 to close out week at RBC Heritage