Harman eager to get in hunt, bag more wins
The freezers at his Georgia home are full after a few successful hunting trips. Now Brian Harman is out looking to add to his trophy shelf.
Whether he’s in a blind, tracking through woods or on the first tee, hunting is in Harman’s DNA. The singular pursuit, the solidarity of preparation, the satisfaction of success, the sense of providing for his family. For the former Georgia Bulldog, only the venues and targets change in his mind, and after offseason trips to Texas, where he bagged a 13-point, 162-inch buck, and to Florida where he got some ducks, this week’s locale is by the Pacific Ocean in the Sony Open in Hawaii.
“Our winter gathering went well,” Harman said. “We have meat for the year.”
And he has a plan for the upcoming year on the PGA Tour. It’s quite simple, really. In so many words, it comes down to this — keep it simple. The lefty, who turns 31 next week, will concentrate on his preparation and staying in the moment despite coming off the best season of his career.
Whether he’s out hunting for deer or ducks or fishing, his livelihood is never far off from his thoughts.
“I’ve always got golf on my mind,” he said. “I’m always thinking about what I can do as far as practicing, what I can do on certain courses. I sort of use hunting to unwind from the season and clear my head and figure out what I want to do going forward with my game. It’s very important for me.
“Everything needs fine-tuning. There’s always something bothering you that makes you want to get better.”
He was never better on the PGA Tour than in the 2016-17 wraparound season, when he had seven top-10 finishes, was the 54-hole leader before finishing in a tie for second in the U.S. Open and won his second Tour title in the Wells Fargo Championship, where he nailed a 30foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole to topple world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and Pat Perez by one shot.
“Obviously, the natural response is to say, ‘Yeah, I’m excited. I’m going to have a big year,’ ” Harman said. “But I’m not able to predict any of those things. The only thing I’m worried about is going through my routine and getting ready for Hawaii and prepare as well as I can for the next tournament.
“I’ve always had pretty high expectations of myself. But I wouldn’t say that my expectations are any higher. I’ve learned that super-high expectations lead to big disappointments. So if I can just stay focused on what I want to do, that helps me to stay in the present.”
It’s working so far. Armed with new weapons — his bag is full of Titleist clubs and golf balls after an equipment switch — Harman has started his 201718 campaign with four top-10s in four starts, including third in last weekend’s Sentry Tournament of Champions in Maui.
He’s moved to a career high of 23rd in the official world golf rankings.
While Harman has always adopted the role of underdog and feeds off it — he goes about 5-foot-7, and his college coach once said Harman would rather eat nails than lose — there is one thing in his sights that will further fuel his pursuit this year: the Ryder Cup.
Harman finished 12th in the Presidents Cup standings last year and was bypassed as a captain’s pick. He has represented the red, white and blue in the Walker Cup and hungers to put the colors on again.
“I was disappointed I didn’t make the Presidents Cup team. That one definitely stung,” he said. “But I’ll use that going forward. That’s definitely motivation.”
He’ll do so one hunting trip — he’s going after turkeys in April — one practice session and one tournament at a time.