The 36-year-old Georgian waggler maintained his grasp on the 151st Open Championship with a steady 69 on Day 3. It was a superb reply to Jon Rahm’s morning 63, which piled on the pressure and made it clear the current Masters champion is not done yet.
Asked about his response to Rahm’s statement of intent after a shaky start, Harman said:
“Yeah, I mean, 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.”
Cameron Young moved himself into solo 2nd, with a classy round of 66, yet remains five strokes behind the inconspicuous Brian. Young, although still without a PGA Tour title, seems to be the obvious candidate to mount a meaningful attack on Harman’s lead this afternoon.
He leads the field in Greens in Regulation (77.78%), a strong indication that his ball-striking and strategy have been superior this week. The New Yorker also ran Cameron Smith very close on the final day at St Andrews last year, an experience he’ll no doubt be looking to learn from and improve upon today.
Jon Rahm’s excellent 63, that has put him in with a sniff of Claret Jug glory, was inspired by the flat stick. Whilst we all know the Spaniard’s imperious driving is his major strength (he leads the field in Average Driving Distance at 324.0 yards), yesterday’s success relied on the putter being hot. With just 24 putts and an average of 1.33 per hole, there were very few that Rahm did not hole. His mid-round birdie run was simply electric.
Hovland, Rozner, Day, Straka, Fleetwood and Fitzpatrick Jnr, make up the group at -5, however with seven shots between them and Harman before play is even underway, you have to feel they are too far back.
To make sure of his victory, Harman will likely only have to shoot a 69 or 70. Whilst both Rahm and Young can run very hot and the soft conditions play into their favour, one feels the Georgian deer-hunting lover only needs a couple more red numbers to earn his title. His scrambling and putting have been the parts of his game to rise him above the rest so far, and if he can continue that form on Sunday, he looks hard to beat.
He has averaged 1.44 putts per hole over the first three rounds and made 16 from 19 scrambles to keep blue numbers off his card. He leads the field in both categories, making him look pretty unbreakable.
Whilst he is not a tall man by any means, he is about average in driving distance (291.8). With the softer conditions, this could however prove to be a stat category that loses him a couple of shots on the final day. Having watched a good amount of his play over the first three days, he tends to flight it a little lower and ‘scuttle’ the ball, which certainly plays against the conditions.
Nevertheless, regardless of how events unfold, he will have to navigate Little Eye and Dun, 17 and 18, which as we have covered rather extensively this week, have the potential to create a Van de Velde style meltdown just a furlong from the finishing post.
Playing alongside fan-favourite Tommy Fleetwood yesterday, Harman also had to deal with the extra pressure from the crowd:
“You know, I’d be lying if I didn’t hear some things that weren’t super nice today towards me. I hear them, but at the same time, I don’t try to let that influence the decision I’m about to make.”
He is proving to be quite the stubborn leader, and if he does go on to win today, there will be no denying that he’s proven his quality and Ryder Cup credentials. One thing is for sure, however. The ‘Harmanator’ nickname which I’ve been pedalling this week won’t stick. He prefers ‘The Butcher of Hoylake’.
“I like that one better than the Harmanator. That made me chuckle. Someone texted me that yesterday. That’s funny.”
The question on everyone’s lips this afternoon won’t be regarding his meat-cutting skills, but whether he will ‘butcher’ his golden opportunity to become a major champion.
