Brian Harman Surges Into Lead With Sparkling 65 on Friday at British Open
HOYLAKE, England — The first time Brian Harman played links golf was following his 2014 victory at the John Deere Classic, a win that got him in the British Open the following week at Royal Liverpool.
It has taken some time, but Harman is finally starting to see success at a style of golf that he always believed was a good fit for him.
Harman, 36, eagled the 18th hole after a 5-iron second shot to the green on Friday to shoot 6-under-par 65 and set the halfway standard of 132, 10 under par, at the Open. When he finished, he was five shots clear of Tommy Fleetwood, who had yet to begin his second round.
"I love the golf over here," said Harman, who has made a single bogey in two days. “I was really excited and I think I missed four or five cuts in a row coming over here, and I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t playing well.
“Then the last couple of years I had some good finishes and just kind of felt like, all right, now at least I feel like I love the golf and I’m playing decently over here. I was excited to come for the Scottish Open the last couple years to try and get over and get adjusted and get ready, so I think that’s helped."
It certainly hasn’t hurt. Harman, who tied for 12th last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, birdied four holes in a row starting at the second on Friday morning, then made 12 consecutive pars before his eagle at the 18th.
He could not have made it look easier on a course that is not playing easy. As the day wore on, the scores spread out, and the number of challengers dwindled.
Even when things weren’t going well, Harman produced. At the par-4 12th, his drive found a menacing pot bunker. He played out backward, then missed the green short and right—and chipped in for par.
"I’d have been very happy to make 5 there," he said.
He also made good pars at the 16th and 17th holes, which he said were just as important as the eagle at the 18th.
"Just not trying to get too caught up in it," he said. "It's just golf. I've probably—I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open (in 2017), I just probably thought about it too much.
"Just didn't focus on getting sleep and eating right. So that would be my focus this weekend."
Harman has two PGA Tour victories, the last coming at the 2017 Wells Fargo Championship. But he’s given himself numerous chances. Starting with the 2017-18 season, he has 29 top-10s on the PGA Tour, the most of any player without a win. Fleetwood is second in that category with 26.
"He's been in this game a long time," said two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington. "I think you'll find one thing about Brian Harman. I mean this in the best possible way: I would suggest he has the perfect chip on his shoulder. He's a great player but is ignored just because he doesn't fit the mold, doesn't look the part.
"I think that chip on the shoulder really drives him. I think he's a very determined, gritty person who wants to really prove himself because, as I said, he probably doesn't get—for how he performs, he wouldn't get the credit. That's the way it is."
After some struggles earlier this year including a missed cut at the Masters, Harman, who starred at the University of Georgia, has turned things around. He tied for second at the Travelers Championship and tied for ninth at the Rocket Mortgage Classic before his tie for 12th last week.
"I think about it a lot, obviously," Harman said of his lack of victories. “I'm around the lead a bunch. It's been hard to stay patient. I felt that after I won the tournament and had the really good chance at the U.S. Open in 2017 that I would probably pop a few more off, and it just hasn't happened. I've been right there, and it just hasn't happened.
“I don't know. I don't know why it hasn't happened, but I'm not going to quit. I'm going to stick with it and just keep after it, and hopefully it'll pop one day."