Brian Harman is running away with the Open. Here are the 9 golfers who could catch him, ranked

HOYLAKE, England – It was 3:29 p.m. when the loudest ovation of the day ripped by means of the primary tee field at Royal Liverpool.

Brian Harman, the Open Championship’s runaway 36-hole chief, was lower than 60 seconds away from teeing off. Tommy Fleetwood, his enjoying associate and the tournament’s runaway fan favoritestood subsequent to him.

However the noise didn’t come from the primary tee, the place the 2 36-hole leaders have been readying to start their rounds. It emanated from only a few ft to their left, on the 18th inexperienced, the place a sleeping big had come roaring to life.

Jon Rahm had just shot a biblical Saturday 63the bottom spherical at Royal Liverpool within the historical past of Open Championship play on the course. He had vaulted himself eight pictures up the leaderboard, trailing Harman by simply 4. With the PGA Tour journeyman about to play the largest, most consequential spherical of his life, the power shift on the primary tee was palpable.

Rahm was coming, and Harman had higher hold some distance between them.

However then a humorous factor occurred. Harman did simply that, capturing a two-under 69 to push his 54-hole whole to 12 below. It was not with out stress — notably, throughout a two-bogey opening stretch that briefly shrunk his result in two — however finally Harman was the harder, and higher, golfer.

It goes with out saying that he enters Sunday the heavy favourite to depart Royal Liverpool the “champion golfer of the 12 months.” However three rounds doesn’t a champion make. Harman should earn the Claret Jug on Sunday, and he’ll should outlast these 9 golfers to do it.

The Contenders

1. Jon Rahm (six below, six again)

Oh, you’re saying Jon Rahm can win this Open? The reigning Masters champ, multiple-time world no. 1, licensed baller and destroyer of worlds — that Jon Rahm?

In fact Rahm is the largest risk to Harman’s title run among the many golfers even remotely near the highest of the leaderboard. He’s arguably probably the most bodily gifted golfer on the planet, and his ceiling is as excessive as any participant since Tiger Woods. It was shock precisely no person if Rahm shot one other 63 on Sunday.

“The job at present was to come back out and provides myself the perfect alternative I might,” he stated Saturday. “Everytime you get a birdie, simply eager about another. That’s merely all you are able to do.”

That’s the sort of killer mindset — and relentlessness — wanted to chase down a pacesetter on a Sunday at a significant. He’ll want these traits if the climate is equally tame on Sunday afternoon.

If there’s one participant within the area inflicting Harman to lose a wink of sleep tonight, it’s Johnny, err…Jonny?

2. Cam Younger (seven below, 5 again)

Cam Younger doesn’t have the major-championship pedigree of Rahm. However he does have strokes on him, and that’s a huge deal. He enters Sunday 5 again of Harman, and as he identified on Saturday night, he has an abundance of expertise with a special sort of event strain.

“I’ve had slightly little bit of a tough like couple months; I’ve made a number of cuts on the quantity,” he stated. “In the event you return and look I’ve made one or two birdies within the final two or three holes, or on the U.S. Open like three nice pars in a row to make the minimize on the quantity. I really feel like mentally having the ability to try this with the golf that’s hanging across the minimize line is de facto one thing I really feel like we’ve been capable of construct on as I’ve began to play some higher golf.”

It doesn’t take Tiger to know the distinction between a Claret Jug and a paycheck on the John Deere is … substantial. However Younger’s model of high-flying, pin-seeking ball-striking could possibly be completely suited to the limp circumstances forecast for Sunday afternoon.

“I feel you simply sort of should see how the primary couple holes play out tomorrow,” he stated. “Then you definitely perhaps begin aiming at issues that you just won’t in any other case.”

He’s not the identify anybody expects to be atop the leaderboard, however he’s one-half of Sunday’s remaining pairing, and he definitely has the expertise to satisfy the second.

3. Viktor Hovland (5 below, seven again)

Seven again? Eek!

But when anybody from the pack of five-under gamers is more likely to mount a critical push on Sunday, it’s Hovland, who has top-25 finishes in each main relationship again to final 12 months’s Open. Hovland had his coronary heart ripped out at each the Masters and PGA Championship, and had one other near-miss in a Nineteenth-place end on the U.S. Open.

Now he finds himself with the prospect to hunt for pins — and a low rating on Open Sunday. His skillset as a ball-striker and contender are definitely there. If Harman flinches early, Viktor could possibly be the man to look at.

The Lurkers

4. Tommy Fleetwood (5 below, seven again)

It’s not a stretch to say this Open means extra to Tommy Lad than most. Fleetwood is a Scouse native. He’s beloved by the Royal Liverpool trustworthy. Everybody across the event — together with Tommy himself — appears to be prepared him to victory.

It helps too that Fleetwood has not one however each of the final-round 63s in main championship historical past, at each the 2018 and 2023 U.S. Opens. That model of Fleetwood hasn’t been on show to this point this week, however he’ll must channel it on Sunday afternoon to push himself into competition.

5. Jason Day (5 below, seven again)

Day has plodded his approach rigorously round Royal Liverpool all week, however now it’s time to seek out out if he’s bided sufficient time to summon a classic efficiency.

Sneakily in competition with back-to-back rounds within the 60s, Day enters Sunday with preferrred circumstances for his bomb-and-gauge model of play and a few of his finest kind in years.

His win on the 2015 PGA might really feel like a number of lifetimes in the past, nevertheless it might loom giant in a final-round area missing major-championship expertise.

The Longshots

6. Sepp Straka (5 below, seven again)

The pitch for Straka is that he’s a ballstriker within the construct of Rahm with a victory two weeks in the past, and he has one of many most experienced caddies on Tour on his bag.

If not for his bogey on the 18th on Saturday, he may need discovered himself even greater on this listing.

7. Alex Fitzpatrick (4 below, eight again)

The youthful brother of former U.S. Open winner Matthew Fitzpatrick is having a hell of an Open for himself, his Saturday 65 pushing him to 3 below for the week.

In fact, Alex has not one of the major-championship expertise of his older brother, but when there’s a method to decide up on golf information by osmosis, you’ll be able to relaxation assured the Fitzpatrick boys have it discovered.

8. Matthew Jordan (three below, 9 again)

Rumor has it the local kid shot a 62 at Royal Liverpool within the weeks main as much as the Open.

He’ll want one other 62 on Sunday simply to have a prayer. However then once more, if somebody goes to do it, it’d properly be Jordo.

9. Rory McIlroy (three below, 9 again)

The stats inform the story of Rory’s week. First within the area in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee; fifth in Strokes Gained: Strategy … 111th in Strokes Gained: Placing.

It’s why McIlroy opted for further time on the apply inexperienced over an interview session with the media. It’s why he stumbled into the right conceivable scoring circumstances and solely recorded a 69. It’s why he’s 9 strokes off the lead.

About the one likelihood Rory has left is to hope Brian Harman by accident booked his Airbnb at — and summoned evil spirits from — the positioning of an historic burial floor.

It could’t occur. It WON’T occur…

…however perhaps the putter lastly will get sizzling.

The Apparent Alternative

Brian Harman (12 below, chief by 5)

We will’t come all this manner with out giving Harman his due. The person has performed lights-out golf at Royal Liverpool. He’s been good, targeted and has managed to keep away from the massive mistake. Now, he has a five-stroke result in present for it and is the overwhelming favourite to win the ultimate main of 2023.

It will be a surprising victory — one which places him firmly within the crosshairs of a surprising bid for the U.S. Ryder Cup staff — however after three days, there isn’t a arguing it will be deserved.

Let’s come to phrases with it: Brian Harman will very doubtless be holding the Claret Jug come Sunday night.

Until…

James Colgan

Golf.com Editor

James Colgan is a information and options editor at GOLF, writing tales for the web site and journal. He manages the Scorching Mic, GOLF’s media vertical, and makes use of his on-camera expertise throughout the model’s platforms. Previous to becoming a member of GOLF, James graduated from Syracuse College, throughout which period he was a caddie scholarship recipient (and astute looper) on Lengthy Island, the place he’s from. He may be reached at james.colgan@golf.com.