Golfer Wins Tourney in the U.K. as Family Watches in Syracuse!

The Open Championship

In the world of professional golf, you won't find a more prestigious tournament to play in, let alone win, than the British Open Championship.

Known simply as "The Open", this tournament is held every year overseas in the U.K., and is considered one of the four "major" tour events on the PGA calendar.

Brian Harman, 2023 Open Championship Winner

This year's runaway winner was Brian Harman, a 36-year-old Georgia native.

Harman, who won the tournament with relative ease, snagged the lead over the field going into the weekend, and never relinquished it, taking home the Claret Jug, $3M dollars in purse money, and enough golf perks to last 3 lifetimes.

Harman's Wife and Kids Watched from Syracuse

Throughout the telecast, announcers spent a lot of time talking about Brian Harman's family who were unable to join him as he pursued golf immortality.

At one point in the broadcast Sunday, announcers said that Harman was one of the few players out on the tour that didn't have his wife and kids with him in England to cheer him on.

Instead, his crew was watching, and rooting back in Syracuse, New York.

During the final round, broadcaster Dan Hicks shared that he had received a text from Harman’s wife, Kelly Van Slyke, who was spending time with the couple’s family in Syracuse, N.Y. - Golf.com 

Brian Harman's Wife is from Syracuse

Brian Harman and his wife, Kelly Van Slyke, have been together for over a decade, getting married in December 2014. The couple has 3 children together.

So, where was Harman's family over the weekend? In Syracuse, New York of course!

During the final round, broadcaster Dan Hicks shared that he had "received a text from Harman’s wife, Kelly Van Slyke Harman, who was spending time with the couple’s family in Syracuse, N.Y."

Kelly Van Slyke Harman, originally from Syracuse, studied at SUNY Geneseo and SUNY Upstate Medical University, graduating in 2010 with a degree in radiation therapy, according to Syracuse.com.

Party Time on Skaneateles Lake?

According to Dan Hicks, "Van Slyke shared that she was not the type to scrutinize every one of Harman’s shots, and had just returned from a four-mile walk. No doubt she was ready to tune in to the final stretch!"

“I’m going to take it (The Claret Jug) home,” Harman said, according to Syracuse.com.

Adding, “I’m going to meet my family up at Skaneateles Lake up in New York. We’ll party a little bit.”