The Open 2023: Brian Harman goes from hunter to hunted at Hoylake

Brian Harman goes from hunter to hunted at Hoylake

Brian Harman will go from hunter to hunted as he takes a five-shot lead into the final round of the 151^st Open at Royal Liverpool.

The 36-year-old American – an avid hunter who learned how to skin a deer from his dad when he was just eight – is just a shot off the record lead in the Open; six shots, set by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, who both went on to victory.

But he’s not thinking about history, or the challenge he faces from a chasing pack including major winners Jon Rahm and Jason Day tomorrow, plus big-bitting playing partner Cameron Young.

“I am just going to try and get a good night’s sleep, come out tomorrow and stay in the moment,” said Harman, whose best finish in a major so far is T2 at the 2017 US Open.

As Rahm poured in eight birdies for a record-breaking 63 before rain arrived at Hoylake, Harmon stuttered early in his round, playing with home favourite Tommy Fleetwood.

The partisan Merseyside crowd shouted “unrepeatable words!” at Harman during the round as they rooted for Fleetwood, and he made early bogeys at the first and fifth holes.

But he steadied the ship with a birdie at the par-5 fifth with some solid putting, and then barely put a foot wrong; more birdies at 9, 12 and 13 extending his lead to five over Young by the time he finished.

Harman said: “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.

“Staying patient out there is paramount. Sometimes it’s a lot harder than others. But really proud of the way that I hung in there.”

Nicknamed “The Butcher of Hoylake” by the tabloids for his love of hunting, he credited stalking prey for hours for helping him stay patient on the course.

But will he be dreaming of lifting the Claret Jug on Sunday? “No,” He says. “I’ve thought about winning majors for my whole entire life. It’s the whole reason I work as hard as I do and why I practise as much as I do and why I sacrifice as much as I do.

“Tomorrow, if that’s going to come to fruition for me, it has to be about the golf. It has to be execution and just staying in the moment.”

MORE FROM THE OPEN

– What does The Open champion win?
– What’s the weather forecast for The Open?
– Morikawa – “My Open win was no fluke”
– Zach Johnson “I took the Claret Jug to a waffle house!”
– Open Legends: Seve Ballesteros
– The Open: tee times and groupings
– The Open live leaderboard
– Revealed! Who will win the 2023 Open
– The complete Royal Liverpool course guide
– Everything you need to know about the 2023 Open
– R&A open to Saudi investment
– R&A on high alert at Hoylake after revealing protestors targeted St Andrews last year
– Meet Christo Lamprecht, the 6ft 8in amateur who everyone is talking about

BECOME A TODAY’S GOLFER MEMBER: Unlimited access to premium content and exclusive rewards!

About the author

Chris Jones
Today’s Golfer Editor

Chris Jones is the Editor of Today’s Golfer magazine, Britain’s biggest and best-selling golf magazine.

Chris worked in newspapers, and for Bird Watching and MCN before joining Today’s Golfer in 2005. He became the editor of Golf World in 2007, building its audience and enhancing its reputation throughout Europe, and also edited Golf Illustrated, a luxury coffee table magazine, before returning to edit Today’s Golfer in 2013.

In the years since, Chris has taken Today’s Golfer to new levels of success, maintaining its place at the top of Britain’s golf magazine sales and increasing market share over its rivals. In 2020 he oversaw the merging of the magazine with Golf World, placing particular emphasis on the revered Top 100 Courses and Resorts rankings.

Chris lives in Cambridgeshire, where Today’s Golfer is produced, and has been a member of a number of the county’s courses, including Elton Furze and Peterborough Milton. He has also played a huge number of the world’s best courses, from Turnberry to TPC Sawgrass, and has traveled the world.

Playing off a 12-handicap, Chris is a classic amateur golfer, capable of both the sublime and the ridiculous. A long-hitter, he prefers the bomb and gouge method to the shorter fairway finder.

He plays a mixed bag of clubs, including Callaway woods, and TaylorMade irons.

You can get in touch with Chris here.