Apparently, Brian Harman took around three minutes to take a 96-yard shot. He waggled more than a dozen times and changed his club twice. After THE PLAYERS, Harman was once again making headlines, but for all the wrong reasons. For fans, though, this is nothing short of a quandary. 

They want to see the 36-year-old more in contention—he sure deserves that. But, for fans, the sight of Harman’s nervous practice swings is also “brutal’ torture to their eyes. Spectators at the Valero Texas Open were flabbergasted with Harman’s pre-shot regimen, as many voiced concern on Reddit.

Brian Harman’s slow play and a little backstory 

At TPC San Antonio, Harman was paired with Matt Fitzpatrick and Adam Scott. One fan noted that it took the reigning Open champion 2 minutes, and 41 seconds to hit a 96-yard shot, which landed in the bunker. He also changed his club after addressing the ball, slowing down the featured group. 

Last year, NBC analyst Brad Faxon compared his club waggle to Novak Djkovic’s ball bouncing before a serve. In fact, NBC added a fun ‘waggle counter’ for Harman. But there is a fascinating backstory to this. Believe it or not, Brian Harman was at one point one of the fastest players on the Tour.

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The reigning Open Champion said in the ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast, “You can ask anybody, junior golf, amateur golf, college golf, I was just go,go,go,go,go.” So he had to wait around a lot, which was frustrating. “I made a conscious effort to slow down, and I didn’t understand that when I slowed down it opened up this, not OCD, but I don’t want to go until I’m ready. I just got slower and slower, I’ve sped it up a little but I’m working on it.” While some fans have heard his side of the story and sympathize with him, not everyone is chiseled from the same stone. 

Fans are frustrated at Harman

Perhaps it will take time for Brian Harman to improve. But, some fans are losing patience. One wrote on Reddit, “Was watching him play a few weeks ago and counted 15 waggles before actually hitting the ball. I know its his pre shot routine but its brutal how long it takes.” Another fan puts the number to 19.

Besides Harman, Wyndham Clark has also drawn the ire of fans for the same reason. Clark is notorious for prolonged discussions with his caddie before taking his shot. Last year, this fan was tagging Harman and Clark on the course. Here is what they had to say. “I watched Wyndham and Harman play in the same group last year. I could only watch 2 holes before walking to another group.”

What would Brooks Koepka say? The proponent of ‘grip, look, shoot, repeat’ was miffed at Viktor Hovland and Patrick Cantlay’s group at last year’s Masters. One fan claimed it would be fun to watch Koepka being paired with the three-time PGA Tour winner. While others thought Stephen Jaeger would be a better option,. “Put him with Jaeger. That guy is hitting before the TV broadcast can even cut over to him after the previous shot.”

Nevertheless, Harman would find solace in knowing that some fans understood his plight. Last year, Colt Knost, a former pro-turned analyst and podcast host, told Golf.com that Brian Harman does that out of nervousness. “Pressure is a b****!,” said Knost. Harman’s coach, Justin Parson, too, revealed that the current Open champion is working on it. 

Referring to that, one fan wrote: “I used to hate watching Harman play, but after reading that he absolutely hates that he does it as well, just can’t stop himself, I do feel for him somewhat,” Another Reddit user commented, “I mean, he’s publicly acknowledged that HE hates it too. I’m sure there is some mental component to it. I’ve timed him compared to other players and he’s not THAT much slower.”

Arguably, Brian Harman will be in focus at this year’s Masters. More so, after Augusta National penalized Anna Davis at this year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Davis, the 2022 ANWA champion, missed the cut by one shot. 

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