After rounds of 69 and 65, Brian Harman is in contention once again to secure a Claret Jug at Royal Portrush, with the American eight-under-par at the halfway stage.
In 2023, Harman dominated at Royal Liverpool, producing a 13-under-par total that was six shots clear of his nearest challengers - Sepp Straka, Jason Day, Tom Kim and Jon Rahm.
That week, it was his putter that caught the eye, with the 38-year-old using a TaylorMade Spider OS CB, but it was also an old training aid that helped Harman lead the field in terms of Strokes Gained: Putting.
Back in 2023, Harman was +11.57 for the week in terms of SG: Putting, holing an incredible 58 out of 59 putts inside 10-feet for the whole week on the Links layout.
Speaking to the media after his round, the Major winner then explained how the Short Game Gains Putting Mirror was one of the key reasons for his maiden Major success.
"I found this - it's a silly-looking mirror where it's got like a little better release pattern," stated Harman, who added "I was just kind of cutting my putts too much. I spent a lot of time just feeling the ball, almost hitting like a baby draw with my putter, and it's been really, really good the last month or so.”
After this explanation, Harman then revealed that the device had been in his possession for some time before he finally decided to address putting issues that had affected him earlier in that season, with spectacular results.
He continued: "I picked it up on the putting green at some tournament over the years. There's all sorts of trinkets and different things up until Wednesday, so I saw it, liked it. Hadn't been putting very good this year until last month or so, but I found that in my barn at my house and it made sense, and I started putting well with it.”
Such was the success of the training aid, Fredrik Lindblom, who is the co-founder of Short Game Gains, tweeted: "To see the best players in the world trust @shortgamegains is amazing. We have now received 300+ orders for our Putting Mirror in the last 24h. THANK YOU for all the support. Both @hannahbggg and I are absolutely freaking out."
Going into the weekend at Royal Portrush, and The 153rd Open Championship, Harman sits at eight-under-par through 36 holes, with the four-time PGA Tour winner firmly in contention.
At the Valero Texas Open in April, Harman changed his trusty flatstick to the TaylorMade Spider 5K-ZT (zero torque) putter. The change proved to be beneficial, as Harman ended up winning the tournament on the putter's debut.
At the time, Harman was 145th in SG: Putting on the PGA Tour but, that week in Texas, he finished sixth in terms of SG: Putting, gaining +5.303 strokes on the field.
