Everyone is trying to catch Brian Harman on Moving Day.
Harman flew out to a five-shot lead after his 6-under performance on Friday at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. This took him to 10 under the halfway mark at the British Open and put him in a great position to claim his first career major championship.
According to Shane Ryan of Golf DigestOnly 12 players have achieved a 36-hole lead from exactly five shots in a 72-hole major championship in history. Of those 12 golfers, 10 have won — most recently with Scotty Scheffler at the Masters last year. The only two players he has bettered are Bobby Clampett at the 1982 British Open, and Henry Cooper at the Masters in 1936. Harman also holds the largest 36-hole lead of any player in the 13 times he played in the British Open at Royal Liverpool.
Tommy Fleetwood is a lonely second five-year-old for the week. He par 71 on Friday after holding on to a share of the lead through 18 holes. Sep Streca alone is third at 4-less, and Min-Woo Lee, Shubhankar Sharma and Jason Day are tied for three-less.
Jordan Spieth is probably the biggest name within walking distance. The former British Open champion is 2-under-the-week. Rory McIlroy, who won last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, is No. 1 under. McIlroy’s last Grand Slam win came in 2014, the last time the British Open was held at Royal Liverpool.
Harman’s win is by no means cemented. There are still two days to play golf. But it would take a big step from someone to close the gap, at least partially, before Sunday’s final round. That’s what “transition day” is.
Catch all the action from Saturday’s third round at the British Open with Yahoo Sports:
