OT: The Open.. weekend golf, weather, etc..
It’s Saturday morning about 8:00 am in A2 - but in Liverpool, The Open’s third round is underway and the leaders are be warming up - getting ready to take the course.
The weather appears to have been calm thus far, and about half of the golfers who have teed off are under par for their round today. Fowler just finished his round and shot 67, 4 under for today’s round
According to forecasts, rain and wind should arrive in an hour or so - and, be around for the next couple of days,
Harman leads by 5 strokes over Fleetwood - which is one of the largest leads (after 36 holes) in any Open. Can Harman hold on? How low can the players go in the forecasted conditions?
Are you watching? Rooting interests? Things you’re hoping to see?
Enjoy…
Change in the weather forecast. Temperatures in the low 60’s, 12 mph winds, and no noticeable precipitation. My guess is - weather will not be a factor today. The course is set up so red numbers can be had.
Six players either currently on the course - or, in the clubhouse, are 3 under or better for the third round. So, it appears the setup is such for players to take advantage. As of 9:40 am EDT - seventeen players are -2 or better in their third round - and 14 of those 17 are either on the back nine or in the clubhouse.
It’s moving day, and any chasers will need to gain strokes on Harman. It’s “go as low as you can”, and - see whether Harman (who tees off at 10:30 am EDT) can continue to manage / navigate Hoylake effectively.
McIlroy just teed off and birdied the first hole. I’m a Rory fan - and, he missed a makable birdie on the second hole.
p.s. - I wonder how similarly the commercials will be run for B1G Saturday Night football on NBC - the split screen format, etc…
Rooting for Harman to not shoot under par today and for Fleetwood not to go too low, just so there is some suspense tomorrow.
Rahm with the round of the day so far which is good for the safety of the cameramen out on the course.
Weather isn’t a factor. Rahm is lighting it up today. I have nothing against Harman, but - would like to see a competitive, tight, leaderboard going into the final round. Rory is hitting it well - he birdied two of his first four - with very close misses on the other two - and, he has an Eagle attempt on the fifth. Rory is three under on his round through five holes - and - could have potentially been -6 through five holes - he’s hitting it great thus far.
Will Rahm finish with a 63 today? The answer is yes… he was 8 under today, and is at -6 for the tourney.
And, the leaders - Harman and Fleetwood - just teed off.
Enjoy…
Will be checking in occasionally, would like to see Harman win but Fleetwood as the local hero would be a nice story.
Felt bad for the amateur kid who was leading after the first round. Barely made the cut.
As is often said...it's not how you start....its how you finish.....
Jon Rahm
Round 1 - 89th place
Round 2 - 39th
Round 3 - Currently in 2nd (after an 8 under 63 today)
WCW - I wonder how Rory will play.. really score.. on the back nine - this afternoon.
Harman looks shaky early on. I wouldn’t be surprised if he shot 75-77 today. If he does come in under par, it’s all over but the shouting.
Great round by Rahm. Rory slowly making progress too. Harmon drops back a bit and this could get real good.
Harman to -8. His lead is 2. The field might be coming.
74 - Harman has a chip / putt for Eagle on the fifth hole. I’ll assume he’ll get up and down for a birdie to get back to -9. I have nothing against Harman - and just hoping there’s a group of contenders, grouped closely together - for tomorrow’s final round. I also wonder if the tougher conditions will arrive.. later today or tomorrow.
I’m not rooting for nasty rain. But, a bit of wind would be interesting to see how the players will shape their shots and adjust their game to the conditions.
Starting to rain pretty good now.
Harman with a birdie on 5.
Fleetwood misses his birdie putt...
Amateur meteorologists here need to retire. For those who've traveled to the UK in July it's like MI weather with more fog (think all four seasons in one day).
Also, history doesn't typically favor players who haven't been in contention trying to win 1st major.
I’m not even a rank amateur meteorologist - but, I do check out the Weather Channel. And, the broadcasters were talking about heavy rain and wind since the opening round. The rain the course has seen in the last hour or so - isn’t anywhere near as severe as was projected / discussed.
And, it will change over the next day. I’ll continue to follow the weather and the tourney.
Meteorology... the only profession where you can be wrong >50% of the time and not get fired.
I heard the forecast was a 50% chance of rain. Right every time…
History does favor those with 5 stroke leads after two rounds in a major. The midpoint leader has gone on to win in 15 of 19 instances.. Harman may not be a well known name, but he is in the mid-20s in the world rankings, so he is far from a hacktivist. Granted, a major is a different test, but I think he has enough to bring it home. I'm pretty sure there are a couple of top 10 players who won't let it happen without a fight.
The conditions really are benign… lowest scoring for the week. Winds are not even breezes.. 5 mph or less around the course. Ideal, or certainly near ideal, scoring conditions. A bit of moisture - cool, but not cold temperatures - the greens will be receptive.
My question is.. what will Harman shoot on the back?
Harman started his third round a bit “bumpy” with two bogeys in his first four holes. There’s no doubt he’s righted the ship, birdieing four of his last nine. He’s up six strokes over Rahm, Young, and Straka - with two par fives left in this round.
It’s extremely likely Harman will have a sizable lead heading into the final round. And, it looks like he’ll be paired with Young tomorrow.
From a field scoring perspective, thus far in the third round - 20 players were over par, while 34 players are in red figures.
We lefties have to stick together...making a very nice recovery...lead is now up to 6-go Harmon!
Herman’s play has been solid since the 5th hole. He’s playing the 17th…
I’m very superstitious, and don’t want to say anything. He’s managed the layout quite well today.
And, they’re still forecasting rain for tomorrow.
OK, cool. Hook’em!
Rooting for Harman today! Been following the guy for about 4 years after meeting him in Valdosta, GA. He's a short, left handed golfer like myself so he became a guy I watched closely to model my game after. Super friendly. He has some big names coming for him today. Go low Brian!
It’s almost 9:00 am EDT on Sunday and the leaders will tee off in 30 minutes. The weather is noticeably different - it’s been raining, and there are spots on the course where water has accumulated with players getting relief from the standing water.
The weather forecast does show the rate of rainfall decreasing for those yet to tee off - so, it will still rain - but, it may not be as heavy as it’s been,
Though I’ve been watching a bit of the tv coverage - I assume the R&A has tried to place pins on higher spots on the greens in anticipation of the weather - and, they might have done this yesterday too, since the anticipated forecast was also for wet conditions / precipitation.
Harman has a very solid lead - 5 strokes. If he shoots even par - it’s going to be tough to catch him.
The early scoring is notably different from Saturday - in that the ratio of players over par for their current (final) round has flipped. On Saturday - more players were under par than over. And today - the scoring is definitely higher, thus far - with more players over par than under.
Enjoy.
The leaders have teed off…. and, after a few holes five players are five strokes behind Harman. Those five are: Rory, Rahm, Fleetwood, Straka, and Cam Young. It will be interesting to see how impactful the weather is - and whether the gap closes.
It’s almost 10 am EDT. Harman had a tremendous up and down on the third hole to maintain the five stroke cushion.
Only seven players in the current top twenty of the leaderboard are under par for their round.
And then… the gorse came into play. The impact a couple of yards can have. On the 5th hole - a par 5 - both Rahm and Harman hit tee shots to the left of fairway, where a few strategically positioned gorse bushes lie.
The difference.. Rahm’s ball settled between the gorse - which afforded him a full swing and he went on to birdie the lone par 5 on the front. Harman was not as fortunate - his ball settled IN the gorse, an unplayable lie (with the associated stroke penalty), and drop - resulted in a bogie. A two shot swing on the leaderboard.
Harman’s still leading - but, the lead has been reduced to three strokes - with over ten holes remaining to be played.
Just like that… Harman bounces back and birdies the sixth.. increasing the lead to four strokes with 12 holes to play…
Nothing against Cam Young - who finished the third round in second place - is paired with Harman - and like Harman is one over on his round - but, a Harman / Rahm final round pairing could have been quite interesting.
It’s about 11:15 am - there’s a bit of “position swapping” in second / third place - with Rahm losing a stroke and Straka picking one up. It’s still a five stroke lead for Harman as he plays the 9th.
So, Harman had 9 1/2 holes to play - and has maintained the five stroke lead he started the round with.
Of the top ten players on the leaderboard, seven are under par in today’s round.
Harman has made the turn… he’s up five strokes as he begins the “back nine on Sunday”. I enjoy the majors - golf and tennis. Though The Open is a great, historical event.. Augusta and The Masters really provides the layout for some significant swings in scoring.
It seems like Hoylake will continue to be course management and playing smart - “avoidance” - appears to be integral to Harman’s strategy. Will there be any surprises in the next two hours?
Harman maintains a five stroke lead with six holes to play…
Interesting sequence - a bogey by Harman followed by a Straka birdie cuts the lead to three strokes. Harman bounces back with another birdie - and the lead is four strokes with four holes to play (for Harman).
Six pairs - twelve golfers - remain on the course…
Harman birdies the par 5 15th hole and increases his lead to five strokes with three holes to play.
Ten golfers are still on the course.
Brian “The Waggler” Harman will have his name engraved on the Claret Jug. A very solid tournament and decisive win. Well played.