HARD BUT FAIR HOYLAKE BROUGHT THE BEST OUT OF HARMAN

was sublime but he never quite got going on Sunday and it was a similar story for Rory McIlroy, who couldn’t build on promising starts on both days.

The bunkers caused some debate but I thought that they were magnificent. Bunkers are meant to be hazards; some people forget that.

If you go into a water hazard you have to take a drop. At least with a

The weather can be an important factor at the Open but I’m glad that this year it was fair to everyone.

One of the idiosyncrasies of links golf is that conditions can vary dramatically from morning to afternoon, but at Hoylake it was either wet or windy or fine for the whole day.

The relentless rain on Sunday might have made it harder for the chasing pack to shoot low scores, but it was also easier for Harman to drop shots. Instead he extended his overnight lead, capping a very impressive four days on Merseyside.

Jon Rahm’s round of 63 on Saturday

I felt sorry for Tommy Fleetwood, who had a lot of pressure on his shoulders as the leading local contender. He played so well but couldn’t buy a putt on Sunday and suffering a triple bogey at the 71st hole was a real sickener.

Royal Liverpool member Matthew Jordan had a fantastic week, from hitting the opening shot to finishing tied for 10th and booking his place at next year’s Open.

Austrian Sepp Straka, meanwhile, played really well to join Rahm in a four-man tie for second. Combined with his recent win on the PGA Tour, that must book his Ryder Cup place. Looking ahead to that contest in Rome, Zach Johnson was one of the first to congratulate Harman on Sunday. He will surely be in Johnson’s US team.

Now that all four men’s majors are done for this year and it is just two months away, a lot of attention will turn to the Ryder Cup and it’s very exciting.

I think the European team is building beautifully but there are seven or eight great players who probably deserve one of the six captain’s picks, so Luke Donald has plenty to think about.

£ Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cup-winning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam