Brian Harman hunts down another British Open title with early lead at Royal Portrush

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) – Brian Harman took dead aim in a mild breeze and surprising sunshine Friday at Royal Portrush for a 6-under 64 that sent him into the weekend hunting another British Open title.

He was called the “Butcher of Hoylake” when Harman won the claret jug at Royal Liverpool two years ago because the British press was fascinating by the Georgia native’s love for hunting. Now it’s about his golf, and it was superb.

Harman played bogey-free, only once having to stress for par as Royal Portrush allowed for some good scoring in weather that again did not live up to its expectation.

Not that anyone was complaining. Temperatures were warm, at least by Irish standards. The breeze was noticeable without being overly punishing.

“They’re very different golf courses, but the golf is similar,” Harman said. “You’ve got to be able to flight your golf ball. You’ve got to know how far everything’s going. Then you can’t get frustrated. You’re going to end up in funny spots where it doesn’t seem fair, and you just have to kind of outlast that stuff.”

Among those who finished, Harman at 8-under 134 was three shots clear of a group that included Harris English (70), Harman’s former teammate at Georgia; Rasmus Hojgaard of Denmark (68), Tyrrell Hatton of England (69) and Robert MacIntyre of Scotland (66).

Rory McIlroy broke par for the second straight round and lost ground. Thousands of spectators followed him along hills ands knobs. There were cheers, but not many roars as McIlroy went around in 69.

He wasn’t at his best in the opening round and was pleased to be only three behind. He was at least five shots back going into the weekend. But at least he’s still playing, after a terrific rally to miss the cut by one shot at Royal Portrush in 2019.

“I didn’t have this opportunity six years ago, so to play an extra two days in this atmosphere in front of these crowds, I’m very excited for that,” McIlroy said. “I feel like my game’s definitely good enough to make a run.”

Scottie Scheffler played in the afternoon. He hit his shot down the middle of the fairway, his next one to 6 feet, his third one in the hole for a birdie. And then out came the umbrellas and some of the heaviest rain of the week. It lasted only a few holes.

Harman had a five-shot lead after 36 holes at Hoylake when he won in 2023, and he wound up winning by six with a game so steady that no one made a serious run at him. He is likely to have a little more company this time around.

But his game looked to be as superb as ever. He was putting for birdie on just about every hole. He was never out of position. Harman opened with an approach to 3 feet on the first hole and drilled his second shot on the par-5 second to 18 feet for a tap-in birdie.

He finished with another dandy, an approach to 8 feet on the 18th hole.

“I’m not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy. I know that I’ve got the game to do it, and it’s just a matter of executing and staying in my own head,” Harman said.

Among those chasing is Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, making yet another case that he could be the first American playing captain the Ryder Cup since 1963. Bradley is coming off a win at the Travelers Championship. Now he appears to be finally figuring out links golf.

Bradley has missed the cut the last five times and his best finish in 11 appearances is a tie for 15th in 2013 at Muirfield.

He shot 67, a round that began with a 5-wood to 18 feet for eagle on the second hole that Bradley said was among the best shots he has hit this year.

“It was nice because I really wanted to play the weekend for the first time in, like, years,” Bradley said. “But I also wanted to play well enough to get myself in position, so that was a great start to the round.”