HOYLAKE, England — American Brian Harman held his nerve with a third-round 69 to lead the British Open by five shots as Spaniard Jon Rahm soared into contention with a course-record 63 at Hoylake on Saturday.
Mr. Harman, seeking his first major title, dropped two shots in the first four holes before birdies at the fifth, ninth, 12th and 13th took him to 12 under par, five ahead of American Cameron Young and six clear of Mr. Rahm.
The 36-year-old Mr. Harman, world number 26, showed great courage and composure after his shaky start, particularly as it happened just after Rahm had completed his round to ramp up the pressure.
World number three Mr. Rahm conjured up eight birdies in a majestic display of ball-striking to give himself a chance to win his third major crown and second of the year.
Mr. Young, runner-up at St Andrews last year, quietly plotted his way around the course to pick up six birdies in a round of 66.
Norway’s Viktor Hovland shot 66 to move to five under, level with Frenchman Antoine Rozner, Austrian Sepp Straka, Australian Jason Day and Tommy Fleetwood whose hopes of becoming the first English winner of the Open for 31 years faded with a 71.
World number two Rory McIlroy collected three early birdies before losing momentum en route to a 69 and at three under par his hopes of claiming a fifth major title at the scene of his 2014 Open triumph are hanging by a thread.
Indian Shubhankar Sharma compiled a tidy 70 to finish at four under, level with England’s Alex Fitzpatrick who carded 65 to finish two shots ahead of his brother Matt, the 2022 US Open champion.
Defending champion Cameron Smith of Australia made a battling 68 to end on one under, but world number one Scottie Scheffler needed two late birdies to complete a 72 and finish at four over.
American Mr. Scheffler admitted his chances of claiming a second major crown were slim. — Reuters
