PGA Tour star Brian Harman dissects Masters disasterclass: "I thought it was 46"

Reigning Open champion Brian Harman admitted he lost his patience as he carded a shocking first round at the 2024 Masters that included a back nine of 11-over par.

Harman came into the first major of the year expecting to contend given his brilliance with the putter and the proven ability to limit mistakes on difficult courses. 

He was the dark horse for many punters but things went south very quickly for Harman after he managed to play his first nine holes bogey-free in two under. 

Harman made bogey on 11 and 12 before a making double bogey on the par-5 13th. 

Related:

• PGA Tour winner makes shock accusation about Tiger Woods
• PGA Tour star Matthew Fitzpatrick reacts to shock Masters report: "It's bizarre"

He finished double-double-double and was left scratching his head. 

Harman did rebound with a level par 72 in round two but he simply had too much work to do to make the cut. 

The left-hander reflected on his performance with reporters before the RBC Heritage. 

A reporter asked him when was the last time he shot 47 over nine holes. 

"Oh man, 47, you're right, I thought it was 46," he said. 

He added: "I didn't have my best stuff. I played at Valero and was feeling pretty good, winning there. 

"My prep wasn't that great. Got off to a good start, which I haven't really done, and the conditions just got the better of me. 

"I hit a wedge shot into the water on 13, which is the hole that I restarted on, and I just lost my patience. 

"I've been pretty good at being able to kind of dial myself or bring myself back to the moment, and I just, yeah, I made that mistake."

He continued: "Then I hit it in the water on 16. Both shots I felt like I executed pretty good. If you could have let me move my ball three feet I probably would have made two birdies instead of a double and a triple. 

"Once I got behind it, the wind's blowing, it's just such a hard golf course. 

"I was proud of the way that I hung in there without really -- I wasted the golf tournament, but I was proud of the way I hung in there Friday afternoon and shot a decent score, even after I wasn't going to make the cut. 

"So, what happened? I lost patience and made some bad golf swings and they add up quick over there."

Recent Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is the overwhelming favourite to win this week's PGA Tour event. 

Harman will also have to contend with the likes of Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood and Max Homa in this signature event. 

Not that it matters for Harman, as he believes the gap between Scheffler and the rest of the field has widened significantly. 

"I'm sure the guys felt the same way when Tiger was winning every tournament that he stepped foot on," Harman said.  

"It feels like right now that if Scottie shows up with anything above a B game he's probably going to be right there."

Read next:

• Watch: Rory McIlroy laughs as he addresses wild LIV Golf rumours
• Culprit identified (?!) over Rory McIlroy's LIV Golf rumour