Waggling hunter Brian Harman was compared to Ricky Ponting and verbally abused on his way to shock w

Brian Harman fended off some of golf's biggest names to claim an unlikely six-shot victory at The Open on Sunday. Having failed to win a PGA Tour event since 2017, the American lefty was not on anybody's list before the championship began.

Brian Harman fended off some of golf's biggest names to claim an unlikely six-shot victory at The Open on Sunday.

Having failed to win a PGA Tour event since 2017, the American lefty was not on anybody's list before the championship began.

At 36, Harman is a well-established name in the world of golf, but fans at Hoylake would be forgiven if they mistook him for another sportsman.

As Harman shot to the top of the leaderboard on Friday, social media exploded with comparisons to Australian cricket legend Ricky Ponting.

Ponting reportedly attended The Open at Hoylake, but the two men were never actually seen in the same room.

When asked about the comparisons on Saturday, Harman laughed: "I hear a lot of Ricky, Ricky's out there.

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"Yeah, I look like him. Handsome fella."

Jokes aside, Harman was far from the most popular possible winner at Royal Liverpool.

Playing alongside him on Saturday, local boy Tommy Fleetwood had the full support of the crowd - and some took it too far.

On Saturday, Harman said: "You know, I'd be lying if I didn't hear some things that weren't super nice today towards me."

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When pressed on what was said, the American said it was 'unrepeatable'.

Besides playing alongside Fleetwood and denying crowd favourite Rory McIlroy, Harman also made headlines during the tournament for a controversial hobby.

Speaking on Friday, he said: "We eat a lot of wild meat at my house, so I enjoy butchering, and I do a lot of hunting."

One British tabloid nicknamed him 'The Butcher of Hoylake' - and he didn't seem to mind.

Harman said: "I like that one better than 'The Harmanator'.

"That made me chuckle. Someone texted me that yesterday. That's funny."

As Harman's victory became increasingly inevitable, his unusual technique also garnered plenty of attention.

American broadcasters introduced a 'waggle counter' and Harman clocked up 13 before one shot during his final round.

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In truth, the controversy around Harman as a person and a golfer only came because his brilliance on the course made the championship itself rather anticlimactic.

And the world No.26 will only care about one thing: his first ever major triumph.

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