American Harman in league of his own with five-stroke Open lead

HOYLAKE, England : American Brian Harman seized control of the Open with a sublime second round then watched the chasing pack huff and puff to little effect in breezy conditions at Royal Liverpool on Friday.

Early starter Harman landed a barrage of birdies on his front nine and then eagled the 18th to post a six-under 65 that left him five shots clear on 10 under.

England's Tommy Fleetwood, one of three overnight leaders after first round 66s, had raucous support but struggled to make inroads, signing for a 71 to sit on five under.

Austria's Sepp Straka emerged as a weekend contender for the Claret Jug with six birdies in a sizzling back nine for a second-round 67 to move four under.

Australian Min Woo Lee (68), compatriot Jason Day (67) and India's Shubhankar Sharma (71) were in a group on three under.

Several other players threatened an afternoon charge but the links course alongside the Dee Estuary was in miserly mood.

American Jordan Spieth, the 2017 champion, birdied three of his first six holes but struggled on the back nine and ended up going nowhere with a level-par 71 to stay on two under.

HOT PUTTER

It proved a day of hard graft for the majority with only 24 of the 156 field under par for 36 holes. But Harman, armed with a red-hot putter, made a mockery of the tough conditions.

"I've had a hot putter the last couple of days so try to ride it through the weekend," Harman, tied sixth at St Andrews last year but has not won on the PGA Tour since 2017, said.

The 36-year-old left-hander got on a roll with birdies at the second, third and fourth and then almost chipped in for an eagle on the fifth before tapping in another birdie.

Harman kept the momentum on the back nine with a sensational chip-in from off the green at the