HOYLAKE, England — Brian Harman showed his survival skills as he overcame a bumpy start and the odd rain shower to cement his position at the top of the Open Championship standings ahead of Sunday’s finals.
But the game hunter is now being hunted by big players – and Jon Rahm and Cameron Young pose the greatest threat to Harman’s quest to have his name engraved on the Claret Jug. Harman is 12 under, five strokes ahead of Young and six ahead of Rahm.
“I’m not focused on tomorrow,” said Harman, who hasn’t won a tournament since 2017, after his third round. “I just want to sleep well.
“It would be foolish not to envision winning a major and I’ve thought about winning majors my whole life but if that becomes a reality tomorrow it just has to be about golf, execution and staying in the moment.”
Although a moderate rain warning was in place, an expected downpour and severe storms largely stayed away from Hoylake. This allowed the players in the earlier groups to benefit from good scoring conditions.
Rahm led the offense with a flawless score of 63 (-8), setting a new course record at Royal Liverpool from a previous 65.
But the former World No. 1 and Masters Champion wasn’t the only player to post a low number on Saturday, meaning the final Major of the year is far from over despite Harman’s sizable lead.
For Rory McIlroy, however, the 10-year wait for another Major will undoubtedly stretch into 2024 as he failed to build from a good start and finish 3-under and nine strokes adrift.
The Athletic explains who else is in the game:
The most likely challenger
Even though he’s a shot behind Young and six ahead of Harman, Rahm is in a class of his own.
Royal Liverpool has produced legendary Open champions that include Bobby Jones, Tiger Woods and McIlroy among others. With Rahm’s experience and cap, he looks like the best player standing with a shot at chasing down Harman, who is aiming for his first major, and joining these elite names.
The 28-year-old’s first two rounds were littered with mistakes, missed putts and at times boiling frustration. There were multiple clashes with the media on the track, who were either too close to him or in his way.
He started 2 overs on Saturday and in 48th place, but after a stable first nine he birdied on the way back after six holes.
“This is the best round I’ve ever played on a links golf course,” said Rahm. “My best lap in a Major? At 18 holes I could say yes, but the first 17 holes in the first round of this year’s Masters were equal or better. This almost corresponds to the day in Augusta.
“Today was one of those days when I felt invincible.”
Jon Rahm’s record-breaking Saturday gives him a shot at his third Major. (Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)
Although Rahm won’t be in the last pairing with Harman, the Spaniard will be in the penultimate group and will use his experience to put pressure on the American.
And if he’s just as explosive on Sunday as he was on Saturday, then it’s not hard to imagine him overtaking Harman – who is bound to make mistakes – to win his third Major in as many years and second in 2023.
On the hunt for her first major
Young finished second to Cameron Smith at last year’s Open Championship and scored a 66 in his third round to advance to the final pairing with Harman. So far this week, Young has stayed under the radar and has been able to use that to his advantage.
The bogey on the seventh hole was the only blemish on an otherwise perfect scorecard, and a birdie on the difficult 18th ended an excellent round.
“I think you just have to see how the first few holes play out tomorrow and then maybe you’ll start aiming for things that you might not otherwise get,” Young said. “With the lead he (Harman) currently has, it won’t necessarily be down to me tomorrow.
“We will plan the same attack plan as in the last few days and see where we are after a few holes.”
Viktor Hovland’s game is on the up and winning this year’s Open will take him to a new level. The 25-year-old finished seventh at the Masters and second at the PGA Championship that year, while also finishing in the top 15 at the US Open in June.
He won the Memorial tournament and you would expect it to be only a matter of time before he crosses the finish line in a Major tournament.
Hovland hasn’t missed the cut since the 2022 Scottish Open, recovering from a bogey in the second round to post an impressive 5-under on Saturday in a five-way tie for fourth place.
“I knew the conditions were right and we could score, but I was very happy that I hadn’t lost a single hole after that,” said Hovland. “My putter was getting hot so it was nice to use some of the nice iron shots I was hitting.”
Hovland hired Joe Mayo as his swing coach earlier this year and the results are paying off.
Meanwhile, the weight of anticipation caught up with local hero Tommy Fleetwood, who exited the 18th hole shaking his head at the shots he missed out there.
Not only is Fleetwood a popular kid in the area, he’s also well-liked in the clubhouse, where other players’ parents speak enthusiastically of his easy-going manner.
The crowd braved the rain and cheered him on from start to finish, where he was again greeted with ‘Tommy boy’ shouts wherever he went, but a second 71 in a row ended up level with Hovland in the field.
While Max Homa noted that playing alongside McIlroy and his massive following was “crazy,” Harman rose to the challenge of calling alongside Fleetwood and thousands of Scousers by maintaining a five-stroke lead at the front.
The uphill spoilers
If McIlroy is considered too far behind, then something extraordinary is needed for the others.
How costly will Jason Day (5-under) miss in 14th place? His iron play wasn’t sharp enough to propel him further up the leaderboard, and a mistake resulted in a three-putt, albeit well off the green, which stopped his momentum.
The 2015 PGA Championship winner has the vast experience but he needs to be clean tomorrow and his game just isn’t on track.
However, Sepp Straka (5-under) is looking good. The beefy Austrian, who won last week’s John Deere Classic, had the most birdies in the first two days and changed his strategy slightly, bombarding long drives in favor of shorter approach shots.
Playing alongside Min Woo Lee, who retired from the competition when his US Open champion sister Minjee gave him courage, Straka went about his business calmly but with confidence.
Indian Shubhankar Sharma was well loved and had a loyal following from his home country who cheered every shot. The 27-year-old has never made a major top 50, but other than an eagle down five, his game lacked the spark needed to seriously challenge.
But how can you ignore a man shooting 6-unders? Earlier this week Alex Fitzpatrick, brother of US Open champion Matt, said his game was going well but he never expected to be in the top 10 before the final day.
It would take a lot of momentum to close the gap on Harman, the man at the top, but when it’s pouring rain and wreaking havoc, there’s still time for another twist.
(Top Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)