Unfazed by jeering fans, mark Harman down as U.S. hero

ROME — “Harman, you don’t have the stones for this.’’ Those rude words came from a Tommy Fleetwood fan at the British Open in July as Brian Harman was playing his third round at Royal Liverpool.

As it turned out, Harman did, indeed, have the “stones’’ to pull it off, winning his first career major and winning it in a runaway.

“Be careful what you wish for’’ smacked that tough-guy spectator in the face as he rooted for Fleetwood, the local boy who was paired with Harman on that fateful third round, to hoist the Claret Jug.

Those Europe fans in the tens of thousands who this week at Marco Simone Country Club will be overtly and vocally rooting against Harman as one of the 12 on the U.S. Ryder Cup team may want to hold their salty comments and mind games to themselves.

Because that kind of stuff is pure rocket fuel for Harman, the 36-yearold from Georgia who has a chip on his shoulder the size of the Coliseum.

Harman, after winning the British Open, revealed to reporters that the man challenging his manhood from outside the ropes “helped’’ him “a lot.”

“It helped snap me back into [thinking that] I’m good enough to do this, that I’m going to do this,’’ Harman said at the time.

So, go ahead and diss Harman — rowdy fan behavior is encouraged at Ryder Cups — but do it at your own risk, because I believe Harman will emerge as one of the heroes for the U.S. side this week in his first Ryder Cup because of his mental toughness that was on full display in England and because of his rock-solid game.

“I love it,’’ Brooks Koepka said Wednesday when the chip on Harman’s shoulder was brought up. “I love guys with a chip on their shoul

der. I love guys that are very gritty, gritty players. [Harman] never gives up, [is] always battling to the end and ready to prove people wrong.’’

This, other than the way these guys play golf inside the ropes, is perhaps the most powerful tool a player can have in his arsenal in this kind of forum, where the pressure and the distractions are beyond description.

“You know people are going to be cheering against you, and I’m sure Brian is ready to hear the silence [of] not have the crowd cheer,’’ Koepka said. “I think that’s an added benefit for him. Even when they are cheering, he wants to make them quiet. It’s a little added bonus, that chip on your shoulder.’’

For the mental toughness he possesses, Harman is quietly pretty damned good inside the ropes, too. Few, if any players are more accurate off the tee, which makes him someone teammates are surely lobbying U.S. captain Zach Johnson to be paired with.

Look for Koepka to be one of the players paired with Harman, who said, “I’m honored anyone would want to play with me. They’ll get my best.’’

That’s a guarantee. Johnson, who’s close friends with Harman, who lives near him in St. Simons Island, Georgia, said Harman is “cut and made for these kinds of teams.’’

“What does Brian do well?’’ Johnson asked rhetorically. “What does he do poorly is an easier question, because it’s an easy answer: I don’t know if he does anything poorly. He just does everything really, really consistently well.’’

Teammate Sam Burns called Harman “a world-class player,’’ adding, “That guy is really good with a golf club in his hand. He’s one of the straightest hitters of a golf ball I’ve ever seen, to a point where if you’re playing him, it just kind of gets old watching.

“For him to go and do what he did at The Open championship this year, I think that gives him more confidence. I know he has confidence in himself, and he has a great team around him. He’s a great guy. I’ve enjoyed our friendship and learning from him and kind of getting to watch how he goes about things.’’

Harman said he’s bracing for the rabid fan interaction but is also ready to embrace it.

“I don’t think there’s any way to prepare for it,’’ he said. “I expect them to be as fervent and I expect to be at times overwhelmed by it, just like I was at The Open championship. It was overwhelming at times. The best you can do is just acknowledge it and just move forward and try not to let it affect you as best you can. But it will affect you. You’d be silly not to think that.’’

Just like that dude at Hoylake was silly to try rattling Harman’s cage.

The prediction here: Harman will add a nickname to his repertoire this week.

Hero.