2023 British Open leaderboard breakdown: Brian Harman up big with Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth in pursuit

Harman's Friday 65 at The Open Championship has him well ahead of the rest of the field entering Moving Day

In a week littered with storylines, it is Brian Harman who finds himself headlining at the halfway point of the 2023 Open Championship. Getting around Royal Liverpool in a bogey-free fashion Friday morning, the long-time PGA Tour pro separated himself from a congested leaderboard filled with some of the best and brightest in the game.

Harman, the man who entered the final day at the 2017 U.S. Open with the solo lead, will do so from the 36-hole mark roughly six years later as he stands at 10 under and five strokes clear of Tommy Fleetwood.

Harman's morning was kick started with 20-foot birdie conversions on Nos. 2-4. He took the strain off his putter with a tap-in birdie on the par-5 5th after his third hit the flagstick and settled mere inches away. This torrid start was followed by 12 straight pars. Nothing fancy. Nothing flashy. Nothing that would jump off the page. Then again, that has been Harman his entire career, and that is the exact style of golf which is rewarded in major championships -- especially at this year's Open where pot bunkers are at the least a one-stroke penalty.

The sizzle would arrive on the par-5 finisher as the relatively short hitter went driver, 5 iron into the home hole to push the pace even further. Once again wielding his putter -- that could moonlight as a spaceship -- in an effective manner, Harman reached double-digits under par and effectively put much of the field out of reach.

"I'm not sure [why I haven't won since 2017]," said Harman. "I think about it a lot, obviously. I'm around the lead a bunch. It's been hard to stay patient. I felt that after I won the tournament and had the really good chance at the U.S. Open in 2017 that I would probably pop a few more off, and it just hasn't happened. I've been right there, and it just hasn't happened. I don't know why it hasn't happened, but I'm not going to quit. I'm going to stick with it and just keep after it, and hopefully it'll pop one day."

2023 Open Championship leaderboard, Round 2

1. Brian Harman (-10): The term "bulldog" will be tossed out plenty to describe Harman, syncing his playing abilities with his alma mater. There was nothing "bulldog" about his second round that featured four birdies and an eagle against zero mistakes. Getting through the difficult beginning stretch of Hoylake in under-par fashion, Harman continued to pepper fairways and greens coming in until his patience was rewarded in the form of a 14-foot eagle conversion on his last. Harman has quietly been playing some great golf both currently and in The Open. Finishing inside the top 20 in the last two editions of this championship, Harman will now put his past experience and meddle to the test.

"[I'm] just not trying to get too caught up in it," said Harman. "It's just golf. I've probably -- I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the U.S. Open, I just probably thought about it too much. Just didn't focus on getting sleep and eating right. So that would be my focus this weekend."

2. Tommy Fleetwood (-5): It was always going to be difficult to follow the emotional high of holding the overnight lead at The Open just outside your hometown. Fleetwood acquitted himself nicely all things considered as he administered a hefty dose of pars early in his round. A birdie bomb from just inside 60 feet on No. 10 got him back to even before the real battle began. With rain rolling in late, Fleetwood experienced a see-saw final eight holes. Birdies were made on 14 and 15 to get him into red figures on the day, but the bogey save on 16 may have been the most crucial of all as it all but secured his spot in the final game Saturday at The Open.

3. Sepp Straka (-4): The John Deere Classic winner showed his propensity to go low when he nearly shot 59 in the final round in the Quad Cities. Like that Sunday, his second round sort of came out of nowhere as the big Austrian simmered before turning to a rolling boil. Straka made six birdies over the course of his final seven holes, signed for a back-nine 31 and catapulted himself into major contention.

T4. Min Woo Lee, Jason Day, Shubhankar Sharma (-3): The flashy Australian was out on the course early Friday and took advantage. After a poor start that saw him drop two shots in his first three holes, Lee let his power take over. An eagle on the par-5 5th kickstarted the latter stages of his round which featured not only that eagle but three birdies and zero bogeys. He finds himself with a chance heading into the weekend for the second straight major championship.

T7. Jordan Spieth, Emiliano Grillo, Adrian Otaegui, Cameron Young (-2): The 2017 champion's first round featured just one wayward swing that resulted in two dropped shots. Spieth's second round was without the rare hosel rocket, but the bogeys added up on the back nine. It was clinical at first. Spieth found himself in the correct position more times than not, and his short game relieved much of the stress that some loose iron swings could have produced. He drove the ball on a string, hit enough quality approach shots and had the putter rolling. The 29-year-old turned in 3 under, but that work was erased with three bogeys in his first six holes of the inward half before ultimately signing for an even-par 71. Spieth's late mistakes mean he has no room for error over the final 36 holes.

T11. Rory McIlroy, Max Homa, Henrik Stenson, Wyndham Clark and nine others (-1): It was a scratchy effort from the world No. 2 as he somehow clawed his way into red figures. McIlroy got off to a brilliant start with two early birdies (that easily could have been three) in his first five holes, but the wayward driver swings soon arrived after. A consistent right miss was McIlroy's plague for most of the middle portion of his round and led to a bogey on 11. However, it was the rare left miss that likely soured his lunch as his tee shot on the par-5 16th -- the easiest hole on the course -- handcuffed the 34-year-old and forced another bogey. As he did Thursday, McIlroy converted a clutch putt on the last to ignite the crowd and perhaps his weekend chances.

"I don't think I have to do anything differently," said McIlroy. "I'm hitting the ball well from tee to green. I've missed a couple of chances on the greens. The wind got me today. It's hard sometimes in two minds whether to play the wind or not to play the wind. … I might be nine back, but I don't think there's going to be a ton of players between me and the lead going into the weekend. Depends on what the conditions are tomorrow. Obviously depends what Brian does, as well."

Check out the rest of the leaderboard from The Open.

Rick Gehman is joined by Patrick McDonald as the entire Open field chases Brian Harman after his Friday 65. It's storylines, scorecards and betting favorites. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

[Jul 21, 2023 at 2:55 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Cameron Smith, Scottie Scheffler need birdies on the last

Welp, I don't think anyone would expect both the defending champion and world No. 1 to need birdie on 18 to make the cut. Both players missed makeable birdie chances from inside 10 feet on 17. Scheffler is in the fairway while Smith is waiting on the tee.

[Jul 21, 2023 at 2:35 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Scheffler needs to find one

He just hit his tee shot into 17 to 7 feet, and it is a much-needed birdie for Scottie Scheffler. He dropped a shot on 16 and is now 4 over and outside the cutline. If he fails to convert, not all will be lost, as the par-5 18th awaits, but the world No. 1 will certainly want to knock this bad boy in and provide some breathing room on the last.

[Jul 21, 2023 at 2:18 pm ET · Patrick McDonald]

Fleetwood gets within four

The Englishman cards a much-needed birdie on 15 to reach 6 under for the tournament and just four behind Brian Harman. Fleetwood has four holes remaining including the par-5 finisher as he aims to close the gap between he and the presumed 36-hole leader. He hasn't had his best stuff today, but he is battling and is giving himself a real chance to raise the Claret Jug heading into the final half of this championship.