The final major of the season is underway at Royal Liverpool. Keep it here for running takeaways as the morning and afternoon waves complete Round 2 play at The Open.
History likes Harman's chances
Royal Liverpool has hosted The Open twice in the last 50 years with Tiger Woods winning in 2006 and Rory McIlroy claiming the Claret Jug in 2014. Both of those players got off to hot starts in the event, taking 132 strokes over the opening two rounds to hold the 36-hole lead. Thanks to a brilliant 6-under 65 on Friday, that's exactly where Brian Harman sits after his opening two rounds.
The 36-year-old played out of his mind in Round 2, making four birdies in a row on the opening nine and completing his day without a bogey. He saved his best for last, eagling the par-5 18th to head to the clubhouse with a five-shot lead on Tommy Fleetwood before the Englishman even teed off. His 65 was a full three shots better than the next best round shot on Friday.
Brian Harman is currently at 14.7 strokes gained total for the week.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 21, 2023
The last player with more strokes gained vs the field than that through 36 holes at an Open was Rory McIlroy, here at Royal Liverpool (+15.1).
While Harman is no stranger to PGA TOUR fans, he's not exactly someone who has flashed in major championships. He's played in 29 of those events throughout his career with only two top-10 finishes to show for it. However, one of those was a tie for sixth at last year's Open Championship - a result that shows he's very comfortable with links golf.
Fleetwood battles to stay within shouting distance
The opening-round co-leader was already five shots back when he started his round on Friday, as Harman did his work early in the morning before Fleetwood's afternoon tee time. The local favorite hit a number of quality shots, a few poor ones, and was greeted with overwhelming applause throughout the day - but he could get no closer than the five-shot deficit with which he started.
Fleetwood played solid golf throughout the day but couldn't take advantage of scoring opportunities on an opening stretch. He fixed that with three birdies on the closing nine, but two bogeys kept him from cutting into Harman's advantage.
The 32-year-old has shown on numerous occasions that he is a strong player in poor conditions - a benefit with plenty of rain and wind forecast for the weekend at Royal Liverpool. One thing is for certain, he will definitely have the most support this weekend just 30 miles from his hometown of Southport.
Scottie's streak in danger
It's been over 260 days since Scottie Scheffler last finished outside the top 12 of a professional golf event - a simply outrageous span of 15 tournaments. That run includes the previous three majors on the schedule this season. However, if that run is going to continue, he's going to have to turn in a very solid weekend at Royal Liverpool.
After a 1-under 70 in Round 1 left him in great shape, Scheffler struggled for the majority of this round, at one point looking incredulously at his caddie and muttering "I've never seen a ball go that far right" as his approach on No. 12 found the rough.
He came to the 18th hole with six bogeys on his card, needing a birdie just to make the cut and avoid his first missed weekend since last August. He showed why he's the World No. 1 on that final hole, hitting an exquisite bunker shot to 6 inches for a tap-in to ensure he was safely inside the number.
He sits a full 15 shots behind Harman - a deficit so large that even Scheffler might not be able to erase it. However, he's certainly in range to keep his top-12 streak in tact, as he's just four shots back of that number.
Rory was good, but needed to be great
Much like Round 1 at The Open, Friday was not a bad day for Rory McIlroy. However, when you start the round five shots behind the leader, one needs something more than a not-so-bad performance to narrow the gap. That wasn't in the cards for the 34-year-old at Royal Liverpool, as he birdied the 18th hole to post a 1-under 70 and sit nine shots off Harman's lead heading to the weekend.
Things started well for McIlroy on Friday, as he was just one of nine players in the 156-man field to birdie the opening hole. He had the chance to get 2-under through three but missed a 4-footer for birdie on the third hole. That would be a sign of things to come, as he also missed a 7-footer for birdie on No. 13 and a 5-footer for par on the par-5 15th - the easiest hole Royal Liverpool has to offer.
McIlroy had issues with his approach play all day, hitting just 10 of 18 greens on the round. He was able to scramble brilliantly to keep himself in the red but could do little to keep up with Harman.
"I got off to a great start. Was a couple under through nine, and then gave those shots away on two of the sort of easier holes on the course, 11 and 15," McIlroy said after the round. "It played really, really tough. Ten-under par is unbelievably impressive out there. We'll see what the weekend holds. But after two days I'm actually pretty happy with my two days' work."
McIlroy is no stranger to low rounds at Royal Liverpool given his matching 66s in the opening rounds of his 2014 win at the course. That's something he's going to have to summon on the weekend if he hopes to get back in the thick of things by Sunday afternoon.
Christo goes the wrong way
The biggest surprise in Round 1 was undoubtedly the performance of 6-foot-8 amateur Christo Lamprecht. The Georgia Tech star fired an incredible 66 in his first round ever at The Open to become the first amateur to hold the 18-hole co-lead since 2011.
Unfortunately for Lamprecht, he came crashing back down to earth on Friday with an 8-over 79 in firmer, windier conditions. The Amateur Championship winner failed to make a birdie all day and opened with five bogies over his first eight holes. The biggest issue on Friday was his driver, as Lamprecht lost an astonishing 4.79 strokes off the tee. That's by far the worst showing among anyone in the 156-man field for Round 2.
Despite his struggles, he will still get to see the weekend at Royal Liverpool as he sits directly on the 3-over cut line.
Homa rides the Royal Liverpool rollercoaster
Max Homa could charge admission for the ride he took around Royal Liverpool on Friday. The world No. 8 made six bogeys and one double-bogey but was still able to finish with a 2-over 73 thanks to flashes of excellent play.
Homa is one of the most explosive players on the PGA TOUR this season, ranking ninth in birdie average, and used that to his advantage to keep himself in the mix. The six-time PGA TOUR winner poured in six birdies across his 18 holes, including a sparkling stretch of four in five holes to close his opening nine.
Despite the fact he's nine strokes behind Harman, there are only 11 players in front of Homa entering the weekend. If he can keep the birdies coming and avoid the bogeys, the California native could make a run at his first major.
