Hunter Harman becomes the hunted after taking lead at British Open
Brian Harman of the United States stays upbeat of his chances in the British Open. Raj Mehta/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Raj Mehta / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Hoylake, United Kingdom | AFP | Friday 7/21/2023 – 23:12
American Brian Harman is on course for the biggest win of his career after surging to the top of the British Open leaderboard, reaching 10 under par after his second round on Friday.
The world number 26 has two wins on the US PGA Tour, with the second of those coming six years ago.
But his form at Hoylake has not come out of the blue — he has five top-10 finishes this season and was tied for sixth at last year's British Open.
The closest he has come to winning a major so far was at the 2017 US Open, where he led after three rounds before finishing joint second behind Brooks Koepka.
"I felt that after I won the tournament (Wells Fargo) and had the really good chance at the US Open in 2017 that I would probably pop a few more off, and it just hasn't happened. I've been right there," said Harman.
"I don't know why it hasn't happened, but I'm not going to quit. I'm going to stick with it and just keep after it, and hopefully it'll pop one day."
Despite an impressive year on the Tour, Harman's results at the majors in 2023 have so far been disappointing.
After missing the cut at the Masters in April he took out his frustration by killing a turkey and a pig in a hunt back home.
"I've been a hunter my entire life. I enjoy the strategy of it," added the man from Savannah, Georgia.
"We eat a lot of wild meat at my house. I enjoy butchering, and I do a lot of hunting."
There was no need to lash out on Friday, with rest ahead of the weekend top of Harman's agenda after a round that opened up a five-shot lead by the time he had reached the clubhouse.