The Open: Brian Harman sets pace, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm set to make cut

Harman's bogey-free circular contained 4 birdies and an eagle

Brian Harman deed a sensational six-under-par 65 to contention 5 wide of the tract during circular 2 of The Open.

Rory McIlroy's 69 lifted him to 1 under, portion Tyrrell Hatton had a 9 astatine the past to extremity 2 implicit aft a 73.

Joint overnight person Tommy Fleetwood is among the aboriginal starters and resumes successful 2nd spot connected 5 under.

Argentina's Emiliano Grillo, who shared the pb with Fleetwood, double-bogeyed the 2nd arsenic helium fell backmost with a 74. South African amateur Christo Lamprecht is retired connected the course, meanwhile, and had 4 bogeys successful his opening six holes.

But Friday greeting was each astir Harman, whose 65 was 3 shots amended than the adjacent champion of the aboriginal starters - Australia's Min Woo Lee, who climbed to associated 4th connected 3 nether with a 68.

His full of 132 shots matches that of Tiger Woods successful 2006 and McIlroy successful 2014 present astatine Royal Liverpool, and they some went connected to win.

Left-hander Harman, who started 1 changeable disconnected the pb aft Thursday's 67, drained putts of 19, 25 and 17 feet connected the second, 3rd and 4th holes to spell 2 up and further birdie followed connected the par-five fifth.

"I've had a blistery putter the past mates of days truthful I'll effort to thrust it done the weekend," helium said.

A tally of 12 pars was kept going connected the 12th erstwhile Harman, who finished associated sixth past twelvemonth astatine St Andrews, chipped successful from the unsmooth to debar dropping a shot.

Just Stop Oil protesters concisely halted play astatine the par-three 17th spread with orangish flares and pulverization but that was cleared good earlier Harman escaped with a par, aft splashing retired of a bunker to 7 feet.

And helium wrapped up an already superb circular with a 240-yard 2nd changeable into the bosom of the par-five 18th greenish earlier rolling successful his eagle putt.

McIlroy reached halfway nether par, but lone aft holing an 8 footer for birdie connected the last. The satellite fig 2 missed 2 different birdie putts from person successful connected a time erstwhile his scrambling skills came to the fore.

Six times helium putted to prevention par aft failing to scope the greenish successful regulation, including a 14-footer connected the 14th.

He had started brightly with 2 birdies successful his opening 5 holes, but recovered the going tougher connected the backmost nine, dropping shots connected the 11th and par-five 15th.

The 18th has not yet yielded rather truthful galore large scores arsenic successful circular one, but England's Hatton fell foul of the interior retired of bounds, hitting 2 tee shots beyond the bound arsenic helium closed with a quintuple-bogey 9 that dropped him from 2 nether to 2 over.

More to follow.