There doesn’t seem to be anyone coughing on Brian Harman at this Royal Liverpool British Open but Jon Rahm is trying his hardest. The North American did not notice the pressure and was even able to extend his advantage as leader of the tournament on a moving day that, despite everything, had the Basque as the undisputed protagonist.
Rahm fell in love Rahm climbed. And Rahm allows himself to dream. All thanks to a legendary turn that, although remote –everything is in the hands of Harman–, places him in the race to grab the Claret Jug. Barrika’s lion roared more than ever and signed a card of 63 strokes, breaking many marks and ascending the classification as if it were in an elevator. “It has been my best lap in a links. When you play at the highest level you imagine days and turns like this. It has been a lot of fun having a day like this ”, he confessed happily at the end.
The Spanish golfer, a double big winner at the age of 28, had one of those special days with the putt and ended up signing eight birdies and ten pars. “There is nothing to erase from the lap,” he certified. His 63 shots represent his best lap in a major – he had made 64 at Royal Saint George’s and 65 at Augusta –, just one shot behind the best result in Grand Slam history, the 62 of South African Branden Grace at Birkdale in 2017. But Rahm also signed the best card in an Open ever seen at Hoylake. And we are talking about a course that has hosted the tournament in three different centuries.
After an unfortunate first two days, Rahm’s feat has returned him to the fight for the title but the Basque is the first to know that it will be an uneven fight. Harman has the tournament under control and only giving in to the pressure of winning his first major would open the door for his competitors.
The Savannah player already faced the last day of the US Open in 2017 as the leader, when he would end up being surpassed by Brooks Koepka in Erin Hills, but that was very different. He barely had an advantage of the five that he will have when he plays today at 1. And, in addition, he is showing a solidity that makes it difficult to think of a debacle. Yesterday, for example, he started with two bogeys in four holes. It seemed that his legs were beginning to shake and the fight for the Open was wide open. But Harman signed four birdies from there at the end to extend his advantage (-12). He will go out with Cam Young (-7), second to five shots, behind Rahm (-6), third, to six.
