Brian Harman hits a record for the first half of a major The Open

Round 2 of The Open 2023 ends on the evening of July 21 (Hanoi time). Halfway through, Harman scored -10, and Tommy Fleetwood was second (-5). And so, the gap between the American golfer and his British colleague at the 151st tournament has reached the 36-hole lead in the tournament's history since 1934.

If you consider the major quartet over the last four decades, Harman is the ninth player to reach a five-stroke difference or more. Eight names before Harman were crowned champions later.

Yesterday, Harman went from hole 1, hitting a total of 65 strokes including four birdies and no bogey in the first half. For the rest, he kept par for nine consecutive holes and closed the round with an eagle on the par5 18 hole, after playing 346 yards down the fairway, the second shot 244 yards and finished 4.2 m.

Harman is at the top of the league in terms of hole-punch performance, with approximately 80.5 metres, of which 37.8 meters was in the second game. When finished, he humbly in front of the media: "I put the ball well for the past two days and hope to maintain it until the end."

In 2014, Harman, thanks to winning the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour, was invited to The Open, also at Royal Liverpool and finished T26 and the championship went to Rory McIlroy. Since then, he has participated in seven more battles, including four eliminations, ranked T19 in 2021 and finished T6 last year.

This year, Harman's two-round stroke total reached 132, breaking the record for the first half performance across The Open at Royal Liverpool. In turn, before Harman and both holding Claret Jug are Tiger Woods (2006) and McIlroy (2014).

And with a current five-stroke lead, Harman is likely to become the third left-hander to win The Open, after Bob Charles in 1963 and Phil Mickelson half a century later. In the swinging movement of the left-hand world, the right hand leads, and the left hand exerts the dominant force

Harman is 36 years old, playing professional golf since 2009. He is a veteran on the PGA Tour, having passed 339 tournaments in more than 11 years with two cups and a combined prize money of approximately $29 million.