Everyone is trying to catch Brian Harman on moving day.
Harman jumped out to a five-shot lead after his 6-under performance on Friday at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. That brought him to 10-under at the midway point of the British Open and put him in a great position to capture his first career major championship.
According to Shane Ryan of Golf Digest, only 12 players in a 72-hole major championship in history have held a 36-hole lead in exactly five shots. Of those 12 golfers, 10 of them have won — most recently with Scotty Scheffler at last year’s Masters. Bobby Clampett at the 1982 British Open and Henry Cooper at the Masters in 1936 were the only two men to throw it. Harman also holds the largest 36-hole lead by any player in 13 appearances at the British Open at Royal Liverpool.
Tommy Fleetwood is second on 5-under for the week. He shot an even-par 71 on Friday after holding a share of the lead through 18 holes. Only Seb Straka is tied for third at 4, and Min Woo Lee, Shubangar Sharma and Jason Day are tied at 3 under.
Jordan Spieth is the biggest name in striking distance. The former British Open champion is 2-under for the week. Rory McIlroy is ranked No. 1 after winning the Genesis Scottish Open last week. McIlroy’s last major championship win came in 2014, the last time the British Open was held at Royal Liverpool.
Success for Harman was by no means certain. Two more days of golf. But before Sunday’s final round, it’s going to take a big move from someone to at least partially close the gap. That’s what moving day is for.
Catch up on all of Saturday’s third-round action at the British Open with Yahoo Sports:
