Harman Sticks to Routine, Leads British Open – Former Kent State Golfer Corey Connors Moves Up Leaderboard

It really is amazing how much of a mental game golf can be.

Last week at Firestone Country Club, Champions Tour Players often talked about the mental aspects of golf during their press conferences.

I suppose then, it is not surprising that this week’s British Open leader after the third round, the former University of Georgia golfer and two-time PGA Tour winner, Brian Harman, has also talked a lot about the mental game of golf.

In Saturday’s third round, Harman came into the round leading by a wide margin.

Golf fans around the world were of course wondering if he would maintain this lead or if he might let the pressure get to him and not perform as well.

Well, we now have our answer. 

Although many players moved up the leaderboard, Harman maintained his lead as he shot a third round, 2 under par 69.

On the front nine, Harman bogeyed two out of the first four holes, but was able to birdie the fifth and ninth hole to shoot even par on the front side.  

On the back nine, Harman birdied the par 4, 12th hole, and the par 3,13th hole to shoot 2 under par on the back side.

After the round, Harman was asked about his mindset especially after he made a few bogeys and Jon Rahm began to move up the leaderboard.

“Yeah, I mean, 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, even though I hadn’t hit any good shots yet,” said Harman.

“Staying patient out there is paramount. Sometimes it’s a lot harder than others. But really proud of the way that I hung in there.”

In further discussing his focus on things he could control, Harman explained that although he heard things that the gallery was saying during the third round, he tried not to allow the crowd to influence his performance.

“You know, I’d be lying if I didn’t hear some things that weren’t super nice today towards me,” Harman said. “I hear them, but at the same time, I don’t try to let that influence the decision I’m about to make.”

Finally, Harman was asked if he would visualize himself winning the British Open and holding the trophy tonight as he prepares for tomorrow’s final round.  

Harman responded that it was important for him to stay focused on the present.

“Tomorrow if that’s (winning the British Open) going to come to fruition for me, it has to be all about the golf,” Harman said. “It has to be execution and just staying in the moment.”

Former Kent State Golfer Corey Connors Moves Up the Leaderboard

After making the weekend at 2 over par in the 2023 British Open, former Kent State University golfer Corey Connors is now tied for 24th as he shot a 3 under par 68 on Saturday.  Connors, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, played golf at Kent State from 2010 to 2014.

Connors is currently tied with Stewart Cink who finished in the top ten last week at the Champions Tour Kaulig Companies Championship at Firestone Country Club in Akron.

In addition to Connors and Cink, Cameron Young is at -7 and currently in second place, five strokes behind Harman.

Jon Rahm, the 3rd ranked golfer in the world, is currently in third place at -6.

Five golfers are tied for fourth place at -5 including Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland, Antoine Rozner, and Sepp Straka.

Rounding out the top ten and tied for fifth place heading into the final round of the British Open are Alex Fitzpatrick and Subhankar Sharma at -4, eight strokes behind Harman.

Tomorrow’s final round begins at 2:45am EST with the final group of Brian Harman and Cameron Young starting their round at 9:15am EST.