Brian Harman shot a 6-under-par 65 and held the lead until the late afternoon wave was completed at the Open Championship on Friday at Portrush, Northern Ireland.

Harman, the 2023 Open champion and a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, moved to 8-under 134 following the bogey-free round on Friday. He birdied the first two holes as part of 3-under marks on the front and back sides.

“I think that places like this force you to be a little bit more creative. It’s not so much of an aerial attack,” Harman said. “There’s probably 10 different types of clubs, irons, drivers, woods that you can hit off the tee. There’s different ways to attack into the green, and there’s almost always a hill that will kind of kill a shot coming into the green.

“I don’t know, I just enjoy the creativity and trying to think your way around. You don’t necessarily — you’re not forced to hit certain shots. You can kind of do it your own way.”

Harman was heading back to the range when current Open leader Scottie Scheffler kicked off his round of 64 on Friday. He’s the solo leader at 10-under with Matt Fitzpatrick one behind Scheffler in second place through 36 holes.

Harman enters the weekend tied with Haotong Li, who recorded consecutive rounds of 67. First-round co-leader Harris English (70 on Friday), Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard (68), England’s Tyrrell Hatton (69) and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre (66) all were part of the pileup tied for fifth place at 5 under that includes Scottish Open winner Chris Gotterup. He equaled Harmon with a second-round 65.

In 2023, Harman was lurking in the top 10 and largely under the radar. He’ll be a prominent part of the storyline Saturday.

“I’ll approach the weekend the same way,” Harman said, recalling his victory at Hoylake. “The only thing I’m really worried about is the first tee ball tomorrow, and then I’ll try to hit the next one up there close to the flag. If not, go to the second hole. It’s a very boring approach that I take.

“I’m not trying to be heroic or do anything crazy. I know that I’ve got the game to do it, and it’s just a matter of executing and staying in my own head.”

Li said he didn’t expect to be sitting in the top five through 36 holes and will “have to find a way to deal with” the pressure of playing in the final groups.

He’s not entirely new to the concept after being paired with Tiger Woods and Jon Rahm in the 2019 Masters. As for this Open Championship, Li said the strategy and margin for error make it similar to every other marquee event.

“It’s tough. Dealing with the wind all the time, firm conditions,” Li said. “Every major is the same; it’s just tough.”

–Field Level Media