DEVELOPING Defence rests without Donald Trump taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
Brian Harman turned back every challenge in the British Open, from big names to bad weather, and took his place among major champions Sunday with a victory that was never seriously in doubt at Royal Liverpool.
Harman twice responded to a rare bogey with back-to-back birdies, leaving everyone else playing for second. He closed with a 1-under 70, making an 8-foot par putt on the last hole for a six-shot victory.
At age 36, he is the oldest first-time major winner since Sergio Garcia was 37 when he won the Masters in 2017.
Garcia wasn't a surprise. Not many would have seen this victory coming at the start of the week. Harman had gone 167 tournaments over six years since his last win in the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. This is only his third title in his 12 years on the PGA Tour.
And then the avid outdoorsman made winning golf's oldest championship look as easy as shooting fish in a barrel.
Masters champion Jon Rahm birdied his last hole for a 70 to make it a four-way tie for second place with Tom Kim (67), Sepp Straka (69) and Jason Day (69).
That turned out to be the B-flight.
"He won by six, so there's nothing really any of us could have done," Rahm said.
Harman took the lead on Friday morning with the second of four straight birdies early in the second round. He never trailed over the final 51 holes, leading by five shots after the second round and five shots after the third round.
He started the round in the rain with a smattering of boos from the grandstand, fans either wanting a big star or perhaps not paying attention to the masterclass performance Harman had delivered. Playing with Tommy Fleetwood of England on Saturday, Harman said he heard a few comments he described as unrepeatable.
But he is full of Georgia grit, never wavering in rain or sunshine or wind.
He walked up toward the 18th green to a standing ovation, and tapped his hand to his heart to acknowledge the fans as he walked off the green. All that remained was signing his card -- a 13-under 271 -- and return to collect the silver claret jug, the oldest trophy in golf.
Brian Harman, champion golfer of the year. Imagine that.
"I'm going to have a couple of pints out of this here trophy, I believe," Harman said.
The finish, even without any drama, was fitting. Harman hit his approach from 194 yards into a pot bunker right of the 18th green, only the third bunker he was in over 72 holes. That's the biggest key to Royal Liverpool. And he made the putt, giving him only 106 for the week.
"I doubled down on my process and I know it's boring and it is not flashy," Harman said. "But, until hitting that last bunker shot, I have not thought about winning the tournament."
There was one anxious moment early on Sunday in a steady rain. Harman hit his drive into a gorse bush left of the fairway on the par-5 fifth hole and had to take a penalty drop. It led to his second bogey of the round.
Rahm, playing in the group ahead, looked to get one of those breaks that fall to major winners. His drive had landed between bushes, allowing for a shot just short of the green and a birdie.
The lead was down to three shots. The rain wasn't stopping. The rest of the links, along with the pressure that comes with Sunday at a major, was still ahead of him.
Harman drained a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-3 sixth, a 25-foot birdie putt on the next hole and he was on his way.
He dropped another shot on the par-3 13th that reduced his lead to four shots with five to play. And then he made birdie from 40 feet on the tough 14th, and followed with an 8-foot birdie on the 15th.
The year ended in more disappointment for Rory McIlroy, who had won the Scottish Open last week and was the last Open champion at Royal Liverpool in 2014. He was never really a factor, although he certainly teased the large galleries that followed him.
Sunday was no exception. McIlroy started nine shots behind and ran off three straight birdies, starting with a 50-foot putt on No. 3. He was within five shots and still on the front nine. And then he stalled, not making another birdie until Harman was well on his way.
McIlroy was one shot better each round -- 71-70-69-68 -- to tie for sixth with Emiliano Grillo (68). That wasn't nearly enough to match a performance like Harman delivered.
"I'm optimistic about the future and just got to keep plugging away," said McIlroy, who now has gone 34 majors since winning his last one in 2014.
Cameron Young, the runner-up last year at St. Andrews, played in the final group with Harman and never applied any pressure. He hit a chip that rolled off the side of the green on the opening hole and made bogey, and he missed way too many putts inside 10 feet.
He closed with a 73 and tied for eighth with Shubhankar Sharma of India, who had 17 pars and one birdie in his round of 70.
Harman now has a five-year exemption in all the majors and joins the list of Open champions at Hoylake that include McIlroy and Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen.
He also can think about a return to Europe in September for the Ryder Cup in Rome. The victory, worth US$3 million, moves him comfortably to No. 3 in the standings. The top six a month from now automatically qualify.
Harman never has played in a Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup. He moves to No. 10 in the world. Over four days at Royal Liverpool, he certainly looked the part.
Donald Trump's lawyers rested their defence Tuesday without the former president taking the witness stand in his New York hush money trial.
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.
Riley Keough, the granddaughter of Elvis Presley, is fighting plans to publicly auction his Graceland estate in Memphis after a company tried to sell the property based on claims that a loan using the king of rock ’n’ roll's former home as collateral was not repaid.
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
If you've been to a party lately and haven't seen someone drinking a BORG, you're likely not partying with college students.
As the month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores wears on, small independent food retailers and alternative grocery options say they're seeing a boost in traffic and sales.
For those who go to their local libraries often, they know there’s much more to their library than just borrowing books. Local libraries in Atlantic Canada are now renting out a broader range of items for people.
Flashes of purple darting across the sky mixed with the serenading sound of songs will be noticed more with spring in full force in Manitoba.
Catching 'em all with impressive speed, a 7-year-old boy from Windsor, Ont. who only started his competitive Pokémon journey seven months ago has already levelled up to compete at a world championship level.
A sanctuary dedicated to animals with disabilities is celebrating the third birthday of one of its most popular residents.
2b Theatre recently moved into the old Video Difference building, seeking to transform it into an artistic hub, meeting space, and temporary housing unit for visiting performers in Halifax.
A B.C. woman says her service dog pulled her from a lake moments before she had a seizure, saving her life.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.