By Martyn Herman
HOYLAKE, England (Reuters) – Runaway Open leader Brian Harman spends his spare time hunting turkeys back home in Georgia, and his aim has been true and straight while bagging birdies and eagles at Royal Liverpool.
The terrain of the Wirral Peninsula, not to mention the fauna, might be a little different to what he is used to, but the American again looked perfectly at home on Saturday.
Starting with a five-stroke lead, he ended the day in the same position on 12 under after a round of 69, with compatriot Cameron Young his closest pursuer on seven under.
Harman, whose best result so far at a major was tied for second at the 2017 U.S. Open, was unflappable during his third round as the hunter became the hunted for the chasing pack, even despite two dropped shots in his opening four holes.
Asked if the calmness needed to hunt animals helped him during his quest for the biggest trophy of his career, Harman said “patience and strategy” were common attributes.
“When I go out turkey hunting I can spend all day out there, and like I said, hunting is something else that I do that makes me lose track of time,” Harman, who tops the putting statistics this week with only 78 required over 54 holes, told reporters.
Harman, who was tied for sixth at St Andrews last year, shook off his pursuers on Saturday with birdies at the fifth, ninth, 12th and 13th and then made several ice-cool par putts to dishearten those cheering on his playing partner, local favourite Tommy Fleetwood.
Asked about his shaky start when his lead over Spain’s Jon Rahm was cut to two strokes, he said: “It would have been really easy to let the wheels start spinning and really kind of let it get out of control.
“But I just kind of doubled down on my routine and knew I was hitting it well.”
The mild-mannered Harman was labelled the Butcher of Hoylake by one British tabloid after he spoke candidly about the skills needed to butcher one of his kills, whether a turkey, an elk or boar. He said he had heard some things that “weren’t super nice” from the Fleetwood-supporting crowds on Saturday.
Hunting is not generally well-received in Britain, but Harman was at pains to explain his passion.
“My dad used to take me hunting, but we would always — we always made it a point that I knew how to skin a deer when I was eight years old,” he said. “It was all part of it, start to finish. I enjoy it start to finish.
“Back home at the hunting place that I own, we plant food for the animals. We have prescribed fire for the animals. Everything we do is for the wildlife, and then when we harvest it, we respect it, take care of it, feed our families with it.”
Another day of straight shooting on Sunday and he will have a Claret Jug in his trophy cabinet too.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
