R&A : the OPEN Leaderboard
I opined about Brian Harman's 67 65 -10 5 shot lead before the weekend weather set in..
So Saturday the little lefty didn't hurt himself and the pack can't catch him..
Harman who was T6 last year at St Andrews, his best finish, is no more than a journey man pro on the PGA Tour, the guy who picks his courses. plays his averages and make a very comfortable living.
He is about to secure his future as an Open Champion, unless he falters..
Brian Harman remained the man to catch at the 151st Open Championship as a third round of 69 maintained his five-stroke lead.
Harman began the round five clear of playing partner Tommy Fleetwood and ended it ahead of last year’s runner-up Cameron Young by the same margin as he reached 12 under par.
Masters Tournament champion Jon Rahm surged into contention with a record-breaking 63 to hold third place outright on six under after Moving Day at Royal Liverpool.
Canadians Corey Conners T24 73 71 68 -1
Harman hit his approach to just over five feet at the 12th and holed a 20-foot putt at the next for back-to-back birdies to stretch his lead.
He said afterwards: “The start was tough. Hit a couple of loose shots. It was nice to turn around and have a nice back nine.
“It would have been really easy to let the wheels start spinning and really kind of let it get out of control, but I just kind of doubled down on my routine and knew I was hitting it well, even though I hadn't hit any good shots yet.”
Looking ahead to Sunday, he said: “I've thought about winning majors for my whole entire life. Tomorrow if that's going to come to fruition for me, it has to be all about the execution and just staying in the moment. Just going to try to get a good night's sleep and get out and play a really nice 18 holes.
Viktor Hovland shot 66 to share fourth place, giving his opening birdie back immediately but adding five more including with a 24-foot putt at the last.
He was alongside Fleetwood, Antoine Rozner, Jason Day and Sepp Straka at five under. Alex Fitzpatrick and Shubhankar Sharma completed the top ten a further shot back.
Rory McIlroy birdied three of the first five after a series of accurate approach shots but that was as good as it got for the leader on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, as a bogey at the 12th left him in a share of 11th after signing for a 69.
Hoylake member Matthew Jordan was also in that group alongside Thomas Detry, Tom Kim, Nicolai Hojgaard and Emiliano Grillo.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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