Reigning champion Brian Harman claims he would play at The Open for free after tournament chiefs raise concerns about escalating prize pots

Brian Harman has insisted he would play at the Open for free after tournament chiefs admitted they are concerned about escalating prize funds.

Harman was the spectacular winner of last year’s Championship at Royal Liverpool and he was understandably emotional yesterday after handing back the Claret Jug — from which he has drunk ‘unusually expensive wine’ over the last 12 months — to R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers.

There is a £13million kitty up for grabs this week in Scotland, £2.38million of which will go to the winner on Sunday and Harman is bidding to become the first man since Padraig Harrington (2007 and 2008) to retain his title.

The increase in winnings certainly has something to do with the financial threat posed by LIV Golf but Slumbers is uncomfortable with the way in which money is dominating and has warned about the long-term dangers presented by cranking up prize pots.

Those golfers who miss the cut this weekend will still get a pay cheque but dollar bills were the furthest thing from Harman’s mind, as he outlined why the Open remains the greatest title of all and the kudos it carries.

Ahead of the 2024 competition, Harman returned his trophy to Martin Slumbers (right)

American Harman hypothetically claimed that he would be willing to play The Open for free

Asked if he would play for nothing other than the trophy, Harman replied: ‘Yeah, I would personally. I’m not sure everyone would, but I would. Why? Some people care more about money than I do, I suppose. I play golf to… I play golf for me.

‘I play golf to see how good I can get at golf. I play golf because I enjoy torturing myself with things that are really hard to do. That’s just me! Most times when I get done with a tournament, I couldn’t tell you within commas of how much I made that week.’

What Harman could tell you, though, was the feelings that followed his triumph on the Wirral, when he led from first round to last. It was only a couple of months later, when the 37-year-old was on his farm in Georgia that the magnitude of his achievement sank in.

‘We spend so much time playing in front of people,’ said Harman. ‘A lot of us kind of crave going to a place where there’s no one watching, there’s nothing. You’re just there. I don’t know if that makes sense or not. It’s somewhere to disappear and just really enjoy time.’