Moving Day at majors is always exciting. With the cut made and only the most in-form players sticking around for the weekend, quality golf is expected. And for players looking to make a run at the title, the third round is all the more important.
They didn’t have to wait long to see some fireworks. After making the cut by a single stroke, Jon Rahm came out firing early at Hoylake, making eight birdies en route to a 63.
“I’ve done what I needed,” Rahm said. “Which is give myself an opportunity.”
To get within striking distance of Brian Harman, though, he needed some help from the leader. Through four holes, it looked as though that help might come — but then, Harman steadied the ship.
After starting two over through his first four, Harman made four birdies and zero bogeys for the remainder of the round to rebuild his lead to five heading into Sunday.
But despite the impressive performance, the English crowds did not exactly shower him with praise. With European darlings like Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy in chase, the crowds all but begged Harman to stumble.
“There’s more to Brian Harman than we know, and I think he likes it that way,” GOLF.com’s Dylan Dethier said. “The problem is that we don’t know enough about Brian Harman to know that we want to know more, so I guess that’s our job.”
As the sun set over Royal Liverpool Saturday evening, the stage was set for an epic final day at the Open Championship.
You can check out the full video of Saturday’s action at the top of this post.
Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the team at GOLF, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists on all things instruction and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.