Harman overcomes early struggles to maintain 5-shot edge at The Open
Brian Harman got past early issues with brilliant precision play down the stretch Saturday at Royal Liverpool to maintain his five-shot lead heading to the final round of The Open.
Harman started his day with two bogeys in his opening four holes, cutting his five-shot advantage to three. But the 36-year-old played nearly flawless golf the rest of the way to post a 2-under 69 and lead Cameron Young by five.
Young's 5-under 66 was enough to grab solo second ahead of Jon Rahm, who sits six shots off the pace at 6-under. Rahm was arguably the biggest story of the day, as the Spaniard broke the Open Championship scoring record at Royal Liverpool with an 8-under 63.
| Place | Player | Total to par | Round 3 score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brian Harman | -12 | 69 |
| 2 | Cameron Young | -7 | 66 |
| 3 | Jon Rahm | -6 | 63 |
| T4 | Sepp Straka | -5 | 70 |
| T4 | Viktor Hovland | -5 | 66 |
| T4 | Tommy Fleetwood | -5 | 71 |
| T4 | Jason Day | -5 | 69 |
| T4 | Antoine Rozner | -5 | 67 |
| T9 | Alex Fitzpatrick | -4 | 65 |
| T9 | Shubhankar Sharma | -4 | 70 |
| T11 | Rory McIlroy | -3 | 69 |
| T11 | Thomas Detry | -3 | 67 |
| T11 | Tom Kim | -3 | 68 |
| T11 | Nicolai Hojgaard | -3 | 69 |
| T11 | Matthew Jordan | -3 | 69 |
| T11 | Emiliano Grillo | -3 | 70 |
Harman's early struggles came at about the same time Rahm finished his record-setting round with a birdie at the 18th hole. Given Rahm's stature in the game, that sight would be enough to shake most players.
However, Harman didn't budge. The control issues he experienced over the first four holes evaporated with two brilliantly struck shots at the par-5 fifth. Two putts later, Harman had his first birdie of the day and righted the ship.
The putter again kept Harman cooking over Saturday's round, as the TOUR's 39th-ranked putter is 44-of-44 on putts inside 10 feet this week. He's now scored in the 60s in six straight rounds at The Open dating back to last year - one shy of the all-time record held by Ernie Els.
Young, last year's Open runner-up at St. Andrews, mounted the best challenge on Harman, with the 25-year-old flashing his strong form on the links in the United Kingdom. He punctuated his round with an incredible birdie from the bunker on the 18th to ensure his place in the final group Sunday.
Rahm's outstanding play certainly made the most noise Saturday. The World No. 3 birdied seven of his final ten holes to grab a slice of history at the iconic course. Unfortunately, it'll likely take a similar performance Sunday if Rahm hopes to become the eighth man ever to win The Open, the Masters, and the U.S. Open.
Tommy Fleetwood couldn't thrill the local crowd from the final group as the Englishman struggled to find momentum en route to a 1-under par 71. After sharing the opening-round lead at 5-under, Fleetwood hasn't gotten any lower for the event, sitting at the same number heading to the final day.
Rory McIlroy is another player who'll be disappointed with his round Saturday. The four-time major winner got off to an electric start with three birdies on his first six holes before running out of gas. He went 1-over for the remainder of the round, done in by a balky putter. McIlroy sits 111th in the field in putting.