Harman still holds a dominant lead at The Open 2023.

At the end of the third round, American golfer Brian Harman finished with a score of -12, maintaining his five-stroke lead from the end of the second round at this year's oldest major golf tournament, held at the par-71 Royal Liverpool course.

The second-round results showed Harman at -10 while his closest rival, Tommy Fleetwood, was at -5. With that lead, Harman broke a record for leading in the first half of The Open, a record that had stood for 89 years.

In the next round, Harman, after a shaky start, regained his form to raise his score to -12 and continue his lead, while Tommy Fleetwood remained at -5 due to an even par round. At this point, Harman was followed by his compatriot Cameron Young, who had never won on the PGA Tour, with a score of -7, and the world's third-ranked golfer, Jon Rahm, at -6.

Harman (in white hat) and Fleetwood tee off on the 14th hole of the third round of The Open at Royal Liverpool, par 71, England, on July 22. Photo: AP

The penultimate round began yesterday afternoon, July 22nd, Hanoi time, with hole 1 as the common starting position, with Harman and Fleetwood playing last. When Harman started, Rahm finished with a 63, recording a total of eight birdies and no bogeys. Thanks to this, Rahm went from +2 at the start of the round to -6 and jumped 38 places on the leaderboard. Young, who was three hours behind Rahm, shot a 66 to reach -7, a five-place increase from his previous position.

Harman recorded two bogeys across the first four holes, bringing his score down to -8. However, he birdied four holes and pars in the remainder of the round. Speaking to the press after the round, Harman said the two most crucial shots came on holes 5 and 7 because they helped him regain his momentum. On the par-5 5, he landed on the green with a 3-wood, then easily finished in two putts. On the par-4 7, he putted on a 1.5-meter putt. This finish helped Harman maintain his score at -9. Over the next six holes, Harman gradually increased his lead, regaining a five-stroke advantage after a birdie on hole 13 and finishing the round at -12.

In 2014, Harman, thanks to winning the John Deere Classic on the PGA Tour, made his debut at The Open, also at Royal Liverpool, where he finished T26, with Rory McIlroy winning the title. Since then, he has competed seven more times, making the cut four times, finishing T19 in 2021 and T6 last year.

Entering this year's Open, Harman was full of hope of winning the claret jug after the third round, having a dominant lead. However, the four major tournaments are unpredictable. Over the past four decades, the four majors have seen two instances of players losing the championship despite leading by half a dozen or more in the final round, like Harman did: Jean Van de Velde at the 1999 Open and Greg Norman at the 1996 Masters.

Harman himself had a chance to win the US Open major once, in the 2017 tournament with a one-stroke lead. However, with a finish of 72 strokes, he finished T2 (-12) while the trophy went to Brooks Koepka with 67 strokes and a winning score of -16.

Harman, 36 years old, has been playing professional golf since 2009. He is a veteran on the PGA Tour, having participated in 339 tournaments over 11 years, winning two titles and accumulating prize money of approximately $29 million.

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