American Harman roars clear at top of Open leaderboard

HOYLAKE, England :American Brian Harman seized control of the Open with a sublime second round then watched the chasing pack flatter to deceive 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 out on his own at 10 under.

England's Tommy Fleetwood, one of three overnight leaders after first round 66s, was given huge support but struggled to make inroads and was five behind with two holes to play.

Austria's Sepp Straka emerged as a weekend contender for the Claret Jug with six birdies on a sizzling back nine in a second-round 67 to move to 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 players threatened to make an afternoon charge but the links course alongside the Dee Estuary was in miserly mood with the greens devilishly difficult.

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

While it was a day of hard graft for the majority, Harman, who finished in a tie for sixth at St Andrews last year, made a mockery of the tough scoring conditions with his putter red-hot.

"I've had a hot putter the last couple of days so try to ride it through the weekend," Harman, who has only two career victories on the PGA Tour, told reporters.

"Last few weeks I found a little something on the greens that I felt like gave me a little better roll."

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