2023 was the year of Brian Harman! Don’t get us wrong. Jon Rahm absolutely dominated the season before his departure to LIV Golf. Scottie Scheffler had also bagged two titles, including THE PLAYERS Championship. Viktor Hovland had managed 3 title wins but was unfortunate to miss out on the Jack Nicklaus Award. But what Harman produced on the Royal Liverpool Golf Course was simply magical.

In the 21st century, only two American golfers have managed to beat the field of the Open Championship by two strokes. Tiger Woods did it in Y2K with an emphatic 8-stroke triumph against a tough field. Harman won it in 2023 by 6 strokes. The amazing feat came against a field that included an in-form Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Hovland, and Scheffler. Despite his outstanding efforts, what made the news was his pre-drive routine.

NBC shared a video of the infamous Brian Harman waggle on the tee as he prepares for a swing. Switching between looking at the ball and his target, the 1-time major winner shuffled the driver up and down 12 times before finally swinging it. The ridiculous habit caught the attention of the fans, and they weren’t pleased with the way Harman was wasting time. Dropping by for the latest podcast of the notsam YouTube Channel, the PGA Tour pro commented on the scenes from 2023.

The host, Sam Roberts, brought up the controversial waggle and also mentioned how fans were commenting, “Brian Harman is impossible to watch.” Speaking of the incident, Harman mentions how he knows the team of the broadcast partners, NBC, and was surprised and said that they “did me so dirty.” Sam wanted to know why they did that, to which the major champion replied how “I’m wrecking everybody in the golf tournament. No one’s beating me. So, it’s a boring golf tournament because I’m running away with it. They’re like, ‘Well, let’s just make him look like an a*******, instead.’ Biggest tournament of my life!”

The 38-year-old was really running away with the Open Championship as he kept on growing the stroke deficit against the field with every passing round. Brian said that he thought the broadcasters wanted to try to spice things up, and hence they thought, “We’ll just ruin his reputation real quick.” While keeping the mood light, Sam and his guest kept on discussing the treatment the latter received.

Speaking of what was going through his mind back then, Harman confessed, “There is some severe anxiety going on out there. There’s a lot running through my head.” One can only imagine the pressure someone might be in when they are trying to close a major win. Just ask Rory McIlroy, who has fumbled a few major wins because he couldn’t keep it together till the last round. Harman mentioned how he was not as indecisive when he first started playing. But when the pressure sank in, he kept on reevaluating his drives. That is how he ended up developing the habit of waggling.

As Harman himself confessed, slowing down for every drive did the trick, as he ended up hitting straighter drives quite often. He mentioned how “What makes me mad is that I don’t really do it anymore. But they never make a point to be like, ‘Oh, it looks like he’s working really hard to try to make himself a little more agreeable to watch.’ And I have. I’ve worked really hard on that. But no one gives a s**t!” Sam also agreed that expecting players to be great at golf and TV-friendly.

“I should have slowed down. Golf needs a heel. Golf needs a good heel. Hey, you start counting? I’m never hitting it! I’m keeping you here all day,” Harman said in retaliation for the lack of acknowledgement of his efforts. He also mentioned how even during the fan interactions, when he is signing autographs, there is always a kid in the crowd who asks, “Well, how many waggles did you get today?” The 1-time major winner said that such dialogues always frustrate him and he tries hard to stop himself from acting out.

It’s hard to contain yourself when the fans try to trigger you for your actions. Brian Harman was still able to maintain his composure as he didn’t lose his cool over the harassment. But not every golfer has been able to remain a gentleman on the course playing the gentleman’s game.

Golfers who weren’t as patient as Brian Harman

Losing a major is tough and can get incredibly frustrating at times. So, for a golfer to lose his mind after fumbling the big titles. While some respond immediately, others get triggered by the fans for their outrageous comments. Bryson DeChambeau is a prime example of the first, as he couldn’t think straight after grabbing a loss in the 2025 Masters Tournament from the jaws of victory. IN the final round at ANGC, the LIV Golf pro had already picked up a lead after Rory McIlroy messed up in the first few holes. However, a series of unfortunate bogeys dropped DeChambeau to the 5th spot while the Irishman completed his Grand Slam. In a post-loss interview, he confessed to being frustrated that McIlroy “didn’t talk to me once all day.” The claims were soon debunked with video evidence that proved the two interacted before the start of the round.

McIlroy also had an outburst earlier this year. Practicing at TPC Sawgrass, one of the fans triggered him by mentioning the 2011 Augusta National blunder. Frustrated by the comments, McIlroy walked towards the ropes and grabbed the fan’s phone before walking ahead in the fairway. That caught a lot of attention as fans berated Rory McIlroy for losing his cool. Based on these reactions, we can say that Brian Harman managed to stay clear of controversy much better than DeChambeau and McIlroy.