Harman only returned to Links Golf after making his Open Championship debut in 2014 at Royal Liverpool and said that was when he “absolutely fell in love with it”.
“I had a period where I missed four cuts in a row at the Open and I just couldn’t figure it out, but I knew I really loved golf even though I wasn’t playing very well “, he added.
“It’s a thinking man’s game. You have to be able to hit all types of golf shots.
“There’s a lot of different ways to be successful and that’s something that’s missing in our game week to week and I wish we had a little more of that.
“It’s refreshing to play hard golf without it being a one-stop shop.”
When Harman won at Royal Liverpool, he said he suffered “irreplaceable” abuse during the third round, while playing with England’s Tommy Fleetwood, who was born just on the coast in Southport.
He was also booed on the first tee as he began his final round, although he later said this made him more determined to win.
However, the third left-hander to win the Claret Jug after Bob Charles and Phil Mickelson said he found the majority of fans at the Open “well-informed” and “a joy to play in front of”.
“Am I expecting hostility? I have no idea,” he said. “I’ll be ready for anything. I’ve always enjoyed playing golf in front of the fans there because they understand what a good shot is. They understand what a bad shot is. They understand.”
There will be 10,000 fewer fans at Royal Troon than the 260,000 at the Wirral Peninsula course last year. But the 250,000 spectators for the 152nd Championship – 70,000 more than during its last edition in 2016 – will constitute a record for an Open organized in Scotland outside of St Andrews.
