The Open 2023: McIlroy, Fleetwood look to catch Harman - ESPN

HOYLAKE, England — When Brian Harman drained a 15-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole Friday afternoon to go to 10 under, he changed the calculus of this year's Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. The weekend will now turn into a field-wide chase of Harman, who is 5 shots ahead of second place as he searches for his first major win.

Who, if anyone, can track him down? Here are six players to watch for, starting Saturday:

As the wind picked up Friday and players struggled to stay near the top of the leaderboard, the Englishman battled in the late draw and made three birdies on the back nine to finish right where he started: 5 under.

«It turned into a grind in the end,» Fleetwood said. «I actually think for the most part of the round I actually felt like I played really, really well. I just never got any momentum built and didn't hole any putts.»

Fleetwood is by far the favorite to catch Harman at some point this weekend and not just because he's closest. He has been playing arguably some of the best golf of his career this year (six top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour), has the support of the home crowd and probably won't have to deal with the pressure of holding on to a 54-hole lead.

As the weather worsens starting Saturday, Fleetwood — who said he watched Harman's 4 under round Friday morning — should also thrive given his experience playing in this area and in this type of weather. He'll need to clean up some of his drives (56th in the field in strokes gained off the tee), but if he maintains his solid approach game (21st) and scorching putting (fifth) he should be right in the mix all the way through the final day.

«We don't know what the conditions are going to bring,» Fleetwood said. «You just have to keep