The Open: Brian Harman leads by five at Royal Liverpool

Fleetwood's situation failed to get going, portion Harman maintained his five-shot advantage

Brian Harman responded superbly to Jon Rahm's Royal Liverpool Open course-record 63 to support his stranglehold connected the title successful Hoylake.

Rahm, who finished earlier Harman began, deed a bogey-free eight-under circular to station six nether and exert immoderate pressure.

But Harman improved to 12 nether with a 69, portion Tommy Fleetwood's situation stalled with a level-par 71.

Fleetwood had been Harman's closest rival astatine halfway but the location favourite, who hails from 30 miles up the Merseyside coast, was the lone subordinate successful the apical 20 not to interruption par connected a time wherever the forecast dense rainfall and precocious winds mostly stayed away.

Harman, who has held the 54-hole pb successful a large erstwhile earlier - astatine the 2017 US Open, wherever helium finished associated 2nd - bogeyed the archetypal and different dropped changeable astatine the 4th saw his pb chopped to two.

But from determination the satellite fig 26 played uncomplicated golf, picking up birdies with abbreviated putts connected the 5th and ninth holes earlier adding 2 much astatine the 12th and 13th.

He is yet to miss a putt from wrong 10 feet this week, and holed a par-saver astatine the past from eight.

Harman volition play the last circular with Young, who changeable a seven-under-par last circular astatine past year's Open to decorativeness runner-up.

The 26-year-old's five-under-par circular featured six birdies and conscionable 1 bogey arsenic helium again enactment himself successful presumption to challenge.

Fleetwood is inactive associated 4th and successful a radical of 5 astatine 5 nether par. Norway's Viktor Hovland made the biggest determination to get to that number, posting a 66, portion France's Antoine Rozner (67), Austria's Sepp Straka (70) and Australia's Jason Day (69) implicit the quintet.

Rahm's sensational round

Spaniard Rahm, who won the Masters successful April to adhd to his 2021 US Open victory, started the 3rd circular connected 2 implicit par, 12 shots adrift of Harman and frustrated with his mediocre signifier connected the greens this week.

But a birdie putt of 10 feet connected the 5th ignited his complaint up the leaderboard. Then came a tally of 4 successive birdies from the ninth, with putts of 22 and 14 feet followed by 2 shorter ones connected the 11th and 12th holes.

A 33-foot birdie connected the 16th was the item arsenic helium picked up 3 much shots successful his closing 4 holes.

Rahm blocked retired sound from the adjacent archetypal tee, wherever Harman and Fleetwood were conscionable mounting off, to sound successful from 11 feet connected the last, and the adulation helium received volition person easy drifted back.

"That was the champion circular I've played connected a links play people ever," said Rahm. "It feels truly good, but there's inactive a batch of enactment to do."

Home situation fades

Rahm's temper was successful implicit opposition to Rory McIlroy, who opted to skip speaking to the media and caput to the putting greenish aft missing 7 birdie attempts of 17 feet oregon less.

The Northern Irishman birdied 3 of his archetypal 5 holes and missed birdie chances connected the different two. And that proved the communicative of his circular arsenic helium posted a two-under-par 69 - his champion circular of the week - to amended to 3 nether but his quest to adhd to his 4 majors volition drift into a 10th year.

Fleetwood's situation besides appears to beryllium over. A birdie astatine the second, coupled with Harman's opening bogey, concisely brought him to wrong 3 but it would beryllium to beryllium his lone 1 of the day, a solitary dropped changeable connected the 10th cancelling that out.

England's Alex Fitzpatrick volition person the household bragging rights astatine the meal array this evening aft 3 birdies successful his 65 lifted him to 4 under, 2 amended than his older member and 2022 US Open champion Matt, who posted a 67.

And Matthew Jordan's fairytale location Open continued. The 27-year-old, who deed his archetypal spot astatine Royal Liverpool astatine the property of 3 and followed his dada and grandad successful becoming a subordinate astatine the property of seven, birdied 4 of his last 5 holes for a 69 and 3 nether total.