About a month ago, Brian Harman — a little lefty from Georgia that only golf gurus ever really paid attention to — hoisted the claret jug at Royal Liverpool after one of the most dominant major performances in recent memory. He proved he was a true mudder at Hoylake, outlasting sloppy conditions and sloppier galleries en route to the biggest win of his career.

That alone would be enough to make anyone’s year, but Harman wasn’t done there. He’s since been named to the 2023 US Ryder Cup team, currently sits eighth in the FedEx Cup standings heading into the Tour Championship and was even seen throwing some downright nasty junk (this is a compliment in baseball) at the Atlanta Braves game on Tuesday night. Check it out.

The Champion Golfer of the Year brought the heat ?@HarmanBrian threw out the first pitch at tonight's Atlanta Braves game.@Braves | @MLB pic.twitter.com/GfFF1F1WT9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 22, 2023

It’s an extremely low bar, but we’re going to go out on a limb and call this the best first pitch in golf history. Watch how this thing snaps down and away at the last second. Filthy. You know he’s coming up and in for some sweet chin music on the next one.

Former Georgia bulldogs and current British Open champion Brian Harman, throwing out the first pitch here at the Braves game tonight

Thursday he tee’s it up at East Lake in Tour Championship pic.twitter.com/PMvqu4W5JH

— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) August 22, 2023

The best part of all this is Harman swings a golf club lefty and pitches righty. Apparently the guy can do it all. Does that include a comeback for the ages this week at East Lake? He’ll tee off on Thursday six shots back of leader Scottie Scheffler. That’s a pretty big mountain to climb, but given the year he’s having (and the smoke he’s throwing on the mound), we wouldn’t rule it out.

The post Brian Harman throws best first pitch in golf history at Atlanta Braves game, continues scorching hot streak appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Alex Myers
As a professional athlete, few have faced — and succeeded — under pressure like John Smoltz. The Hall-of-Fame pitcher raised his game when the stakes were the highest, posting an absurd 15-4 postseason record while wielding a scant 2.67 ERA. Smoltz took the mound in three playoff Game 7s, and yet, it was a recent three-hole playoff on the golf course at a U.S. Senior Open qualifier that had him feeling nerves like never before.

“There’s things that I’ve been through in golf that baseball couldn’t even prepare me for,” Smoltz said. “You’d think that pitching three seventh games would prepare you for any kind of unnerving or nervous moments, but it was nothing like what I went through.”

Ultimately, Smoltz made it through this latest sports battle, earning a spot in the U.S. Senior Open, which will be played June 28-July 1 at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. And now Smoltz will take a break from his job as a TV analyst for MLB Network and Fox to tee it up in his first major. Although, with Fox broadcasting the event, Smoltz says he could be involved with the coverage. Regardless, the 51-year-old is pumped about getting this unexpected opportunity at competing on a big stage again.

“I’m pinching myself every time I wake up,” Smoltz said.

Smoltz joined this week’s Golf Digest Podcast to discuss that crazy day of qualifying, his intense matches with Tiger Woods through the years, a prescient prediction he made to Joe Buck, and how golf played a role in his free agency. We also talked some baseball, ranging from his Hall-of-Fame induction to his toughest loss and most surprising win. Please have a listen:

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/john-smoltz-bryson-dechambeaus-next-big-step-and-a-wild-us-womens-open

The post John Smoltz on qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, playing matches with Tiger Woods, and how golf affected his free agency appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.