An international leaderboard

Brian Harman’s performance stole the show at Royal Liverpool, but eagle-eyed observers may have spotted an interesting fact concerning the top places on the leaderboard.

The top nine positions in The 151st Open were taken up by players of eight different nationalities, while 13 countries were represented in the top 16.

We take a look at the wide variety of nations that had their flags at the top end of the leaderboard.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

In addition to providing the Champion Golfer of the Year in Harman, who finished six shots clear of his nearest rival on 13-under, the United States had two further players in the top 10.

Cameron Young, Harman’s partner in the final group on Sunday, finished tied for eighth on five-under after a closing 73, one shot ahead of Max Homa, who recorded his first top-10 placing in a major.

SOUTH KOREA

Tom Kim defied an ankle injury to bounce back from an opening-day 74 and secure a share of second place with rounds of 68, 68 and 67.

The impressive showing from Kim followed up a T8 finish at the previous month’s US Open as the 21-year-old posted a new best finish in a major.

Y.E. Yang, who famously got the better of Tiger Woods in the 2009 PGA Championship, is the only South Korean player to win a men’s major to date, but it would be no surprise if Kim changed that statistic in the years to come.

AUSTRIA

The first Austrian to win on the PGA TOUR, Sepp Straka enhanced his growing reputation by earning a share of second.

Straka, who won the John Deere Classic earlier in July, briefly made it to eight-under in the final round as he looked to apply pressure to Harman, before a bogey at the 72nd hole denied him solo second place.

AUSTRALIA

Jason Day has frequently shone in the sport’s biggest events, but prior to last week only one of his 16 top-10 finishes at majors had come at The Open.

Day was tied-fourth – and just one shot from a play-off at St Andrews - in 2015, the year of his PGA Championship success. On this occasion, he finished higher up the leaderboard – in a four-way tie for second – but six strokes adrift of the Champion Golfer of the Year.

SPAIN

The fourth player to share second place was Jon Rahm, the winner of the 2021 US Open and 2023 Masters.

Rahm was also third at Royal St George’s in 2021 and is getting ever closer as he looks to add the Claret Jug to his list of major titles.

ARGENTINA

At the venue of Roberto De Vicenzo’s immensely popular triumph in 1967, Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo finished tied-sixth on six-under to record his best placing at The Open.

Grillo had been 12th at Royal Troon in 2016 and Royal St George’s in 2021.

NORTHERN IRELAND

The other player to end the week on six-under was Rory McIlroy, the Champion Golfer of 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

McIlroy threatened a Sunday charge with three birdies in a spin from the third hole on Sunday, but he was unable to build any further momentum.

Since winning The Open nine years ago, the Northern Irishman has finished second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth at golf’s original Championship

INDIA

Shubhankar Sharma started his week with a fine 68 and remained near the top of the leaderboard for the rest of the Championship.

His final position of T8 comfortably represented a career-best in majors.

ENGLAND

The two men who commanded the most fervent support from locals – Royal Liverpool member Matthew Jordan and Southport’s Tommy Fleetwood - finished in a share of 10th with Homa.

Jordan was naturally delighted with his performance in only his second major, but Fleetwood will rue what might have been after starting the week with a five-under 67 that earned him a share of the lead.

SWEDEN, JAPAN, BELGIUM AND NORWAY

The four men at three-under came from four further nations, with Henrik Stenson, Hideki Matsuyama, Thomas Detry and Viktor Hovland rounding out the top 16 at Royal Liverpool.