Harman still dominates at The Open 2023

The results of the second round recorded Harman reaching -10, while the closest opponent - Tommy Fleetwood was -5. With that gap, Harman hit a record of leading the first half of The Open, which has existed for the past 89 years.

In the third round, after the beginning of the decline, Harman was able to regain his form to pull the score to -12 and continue to monopolize the top of the table. Tommy Fleetwood is still -5 on even par. At this time, in turn, Harman is followed by compatriot Cameron Young - who has never won the PGA Tour - with a score of -7 and the world's third golfer Jon Rahm, at -6.

The penultimate round starts with hole 1 as the overall entry position. Harman and Fleetwood went last. When Harman started, Rahm finished with 63 strokes, scoring a total of eight birdies and no bogey. Young was three hours behind Rahm, hitting 66 strokes.

In contrast, Harman scored two bogeys through the first four holes, bringing the score down to -8. However, the whole later part, he took four birdies, the rest were par. Speaking to the press after the round, Harman said the two most important hits occurred on holes 5 and 7 because they helped him regain his momentum.

At the par5 5th hole, he entered the green with a 3 wooden stick, then finished easily after two putts. At the par4 7 hole, he put the ball into the hole with a 1.5 meter putt. This hit helps Harman keep -9. In the next six holes, he gradually increased the gap, regained a five-stroke lead after birdie on hole 13 and then closed the point -12 to the end of the round.

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

At The Open this year, Harman was full of hope to win the Claret Jug after the third round, when he led overwhelmingly. However, the prestigious award group is unpredictable. Over the past four decades, the four majors have recorded two cases of losing the championship despite leading by five points like Harman or more in the final round, including Jean Van de Velde at The Open 1999 and Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters.

Harman himself also once had the opportunity to win the major US Open, at the 2017 tournament with a one-stroke advantage. However, with a 72-stroke finish, he finished T2 (-12) while the cup went to Brooks Koepka with 67 strokes and a -16 victory.

Harman, 36 years old, has been playing golf professionally since 2009. He is a veteran on the PGA Tour, having won 339 tournaments in over 11 years with two cups and a combined prize money of approximately $29 million.