“Brian had two amazing days,” Fleetwood said. He knows about big deficits in the Open, having started four shots behind Shane Lowry at Royal Portrush in the final round in 2019.Īt least this time he still has 36 holes. He scrambled for par on the final two holes for his 71.įleetwood, who grew up about 45 minutes away in Southport, had massive support from the gallery in the northwest of England. He could only splash out and had to hit a superb pitch to save bogey. He was alone in third place, six shots behind Harman.įleetwood made back-to-back birdies on the back nine to get within four shots of Harman, only to find a bunker to the left of the 16th fairway. Sepp Straka had six birdies over his last seven holes - the other was a bogey - for a 31 on the back nine that gave him a 67. The key to Saturday might be to stay dry with rain in the forecast. “I've had a hot putter the last couple days, so try to ride it through the weekend - 36 holes to go, so try to rest up and get ready,” Harman said. Harman cared only about a little food, a little sleep and not thinking about much more. He was at 10-under 132, the same score Woods in 2006 and McIlroy in 2014 had when they went on to win the claret jug.

Harman's 65 matched the lowest score for Royal Liverpool, which is hosting the Open for the 13th time.

He was nine shots behind in his quest to end nine years without a major. He lost his spark around the turn and only a birdie at the par-5 18th allowed him to break par with a 70. He figured a round in the 60s would have put him right back in the mix. “But I think we’ll just have to look at what Brian will do.

“I understand a lot can happen at an Open, but eight shots is a lot of shots to spot a player who’s playing really well,” said Jordan Spieth, who lost three shots on the back nine for a 71 that left him eight behind.

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