The Open third round: Brian Harman remains man to catch despite Hoylake battering Rahm

It had just started to get really exciting. Jon Rahm had propelled himself up the leaderboard on the back of a brilliant 63 - the best-ever score here in this event – and Rory McIlroy had burst out of the blocks with three birdies in the first five holes.

Brian Harman reacts after holing a par putt on the 18th green in the third round of the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool. Picture: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images.

Coupled with a shaky start from Brian Harman as the overnight leader dropped two shots in the first four holes, the excitement in the damp air on the banks of the River Dee suddenly became tangible in the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool. Not for long, though.

Harman, who’d started the day with a five-shot cushion after polished opening efforts of 67 and 65, repaired his early spillage with birdies at the fifth and ninth and was back in cruise control. Back-to-back gains at the 12th and 13th coming home re-established his commanding position in the final major of the season. In signing for a 69 to move to 12-under, his lead is still five – the biggest heading into the final round in the game’s oldest major since McIlroy, who is nine back on this occasion after his early charge fizzled out, held a six-shot advantage when winning in 2014.

“I've thought about winning majors for my entire life,” said the 36-year-old, who led the US Open in 2017 going into the final round before finishing second to Brooks Koepka at Erin Hills. “It's the whole reason I work as hard as I do and why I practise as much as I do and why I sacrifice as much as I do. Tomorrow if that's going to come to fruition for me, it has to be all about the golf. It has to be execution and just staying in the moment.”

Jon Rahm acknowledges the crowd after putting out on the 18th green on day three of the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

Cameron Young, who eagled the 18th at St Andrews to finish second behind Cameron Smith 12 months ago, is Harman’s closest challenger after a 66 containing six birdies. Rahm, the Masters champion, is a shot further back after his blistering effort, with former world No 1 Jason Day on five-under along with European trio Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Antoine Rozner. It’s Harman’s title to lose, though, and, if a confident putt to save par on the 18th is anything to go by - incredibly, he’s holed every single putt he’s faced from ten feet in so far this week – then it looks as though he can, indeed, join Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013) as the only left-handers to claim the Claret Jug.

Just as Harman was making his way to the first tee, Rahm had come rampaging through the field. Twelve shots behind at the halfway stage, the two-time major champion lit up the event with his most impressive performance so far on a seaside test. “Yes, that's the best round I've played on a links golf course ever,” said the Spaniard of an effort that contained seven birdies in the last ten holes, sparked by a 22-footer being converted at the ninth and a 33-footer also dropping at the 16th. It was capped by an eight-foot putt at the last, which was celebrated with a fist pump. “Today was one of those days where I felt invincible,” said Rahm. “The job today was to come out and give myself the best opportunity I could. I’ve done what I needed.” It was pointed out to him that the great Seve Ballesteros hadn’t shot a 63 in this event. “I'd rather win three times and never shoot 63,” replied Rahm, laughing, of his compatriot having landed the Claret Jug in 1974, 1984 and 1988.

Young opened with a 72, but is in with a chance of going one better than the 150th edition after finding his links groove again. “I don't know if it's particularly last year,” he said of how he felt he could tap into last year’s close shave in the closing circuit. “I've been near the lead plenty. It's just a general kind of building of evidence and experience that I can lean on. “Obviously playing links golf I think is different, and I think it's fun. It's not so much leaning on that as much as just I was excited to get over here and play. I really enjoy this kind of golf, and I've had a good time playing this week.”

In a fascinating sub-plot, rookie professional Alex Fitzpatrick leads big brother Matthew, the 2022 US Open champion, by two shots at the 54-hole stage after producing an eye-catching 65 as the majority of players took advantage of the course having been softened by torrential early-morning rain. “Super special round,” said Fitzpatrick, who has been playing mainly on the Challenge Tour since his switch from the amateur ranks. “I'm not familiar with this environment and the amount of people out here, but me and my caddie had a great time out there and things went our way, which was super cool. Nice to put up a good score, and I'll go to bed a happy man. I think the importance of the event creeps into your mind a little bit. I said this at the start of the week, I'm here to enjoy myself and it didn't matter how I did. I enjoyed myself a lot out there today.”

Alex Fitzpatrick celebrates with his caddie Connor Winstanley after holing a putt on the 18th green at Royal Liverpool. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images.

On their family affair, he added: “There will be no rivalry or anything like that. We're brothers at the end of the day as much as we're golfers. I root for him, he roots for me. We're both supporting each other, and we both want what's best for each other. Winning the Claret Jug would obviously be a dream, but there's a lot of top players who are still ahead of me.”