The weekend that we just had is the busiest from a sports perspective that we will get until football returns in seven short weeks. We were blessed with the final major in the golf season, as well as a spectacular debut for Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. So, let’s dive into the two biggest headlines from the weekend.
BRIAN HARMAN WINS THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
Although I hoped for a more drama heavy tournament, this year’s Open Championship still gave us great golf to watch on a lazy weekend. You can’t really ask for more than that.
Brian Harman dominated the competition, taking home his first major, and getting his third win since joining the PGA Tour. The Royal Liverpool course was unforgiving with its deep bunkers that littered each fairway and green, but Harman expertly dodged one after another, only entering three over the course of the four day event. This proved to be the winning factor, and when coupled with his 106 putts (1.47 average per hole), he became unstoppable, finishing with a six stroke lead at -13.
I wasn’t a Brian Harman fan before, but now I am. No, I’m not bandwagoning here. It’s not because of his win, it’s because of this response in the post match press conference:
Happy mowing, Brian!
Tied for second was Jon Rahm who posted a course record 63 on Saturday, which put him six strokes back and very much in the running. Unfortunately for him though, he couldn’t recreate his performance on Sunday and lost by the same margin he entered the day trailing by. His frustration was understandable and visible at times. If he had claimed the Claret Jug to himself, his two major wins would have certainly been enough to win him golfer of the year for 2023. Now, it’s really anybody’s spot to claim.
If you had been following my office pool picks for the tournament, you are probably very disappointed in me. We were off to a hot start with Tommy Fleetwood one stroke back from the lead after day one, but it all went downhill from there. Scottie Scheffler never made a run, Min Woo Lee stayed at the middle of the pack, and Guido Migliozi tried his best but couldn’t pick up all of the slack for the team. There’s always next year though, so we’re gonna come back stronger than ever.
MESSI MAKES A LEGENDARY DEBUT AT INTER MIAMI
Lionel Messi scored a game winning free kick in the 94th minute of his first game with his new club, Inter Miami FC. I don’t think that I would be able to do the goal justice by explaining it. Just watch it with the volume all the way up so you can bask in the glory of the moment:
I mean…are you kidding me with that? The call, the kick, the reaction; everything was Hollywood-esque.
I was listening to 98.5 the Sports Hub today (a local boston sports radio station for those who aren’t familiar) and they said something that I thought summed up the goal very well. Rarely do things ever go by the script in life. The hail mary doesn’t get caught. A buzzer beater for the win doesn’t go in. Sluggers don’t hit the grand slam while down three runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. But Messi does score in the 94th minute of his debut, and that is what makes him the GOAT of the sport.
Whether you like it or not, soccer is here, and a lot of the reason can be credited to this man.