How did Brian Harman distract himself during Open Championship week? A sci-fi novel

Brian Harman didn’t watch much TV during his dominating performance at the Open Championship two weeks ago.

It wasn’t because he was trying to unplug and focus or anything like that. He just couldn’t find anything to watch.

“You going to watch cricket over there? There’s nothing to do,” Harman told GOLF Subpar co-hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode. “The sun never goes down and they watch cricket all night.”

Putting those shots fired at cricket aside, Harman told the guys he bided his time during the long English days by reading. His book of choice was the 1965 sci-fi novel “Dune”, by Frank Herbert. If that sounds familiar, the book was the basis of the film series of the same name starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya. The first part of the series came out in 2021 with the second due out later this fall.

brian harman walks at the open championship
Brian Harman threw one fan out of the Open Championship. Here’s why
By: Josh Berhow

“I watched it somewhere and I’m like, that’s interesting,” Harman said. “I started reading the books now I’m like, ‘Oh, the sequel is coming out in November. Can’t wait!'”

Sleeping on a huge lead in a major at Royal Liverpool two weeks ago wasn’t a completely new situation for Harman. He led through three rounds at the 2017 U.S. Open before losing to Brooks Koepka. He admittedly didn’t handle it that well, saying he may have only gotten three or four hours of sleep that night.

But with a book to occupy his mind, Harman was far more comfortable with his five-shot weekend lead.

“I did a really good job,” Harman said. “I got a good 9 to 10 hours both Saturday and Sunday and Friday and Saturday night. So I felt really good. I was really comfortable over there.”

For more from Harman, including how he dealt with crowds at the Open and what he thought of a ‘Saturday Night Live’ legend predicting his win, check out the full episode below.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.