Winning your first major is rarely easy and Tommy Fleetwood’s path to glory at the Open Championship this week certainly looks more complicated on Saturday morning than it did 24 hours earlier.

When he went to bed on Thursday evening, Fleetwood was co-leader of the tournament having shot a thoroughly professional five-under-par round of 66. He was atop the leaderboard alongside a South African amateur (Christo Lamprecht) and an Argentine without a top-10 finish in his major career (Emiliano Grillo), who would both inevitably fade.

Yet by the time the Englishman teed off for his second round on Friday afternoon, he was five strokes off the lead. Brian Harman – a 36-year-old from Georgia, USA – had torn up Hoylake with a brilliant 65 to climb to ten-under-par on a morning where scoring wasn’t even particularly low.

Fleetwood could have panicked and become overly aggressive in desperate pursuit of birdies to close the gap but patience is arguably the most important attribute for success in links golf and one the 32-year-old has been preaching this week.

This would prove a real test of how committed he is to that approach, even more so once his front nine contained eight pars and a bogey to fall another stroke behind. But he was rewarded for not overstretching himself as a monster birdie putt from almost 60 feet on the 10^th helped inspire a back nine that also included birdies on the 14^th and 15^th, as well as hugely gutsy par saves on the final two holes – a putt from 11 feet at the 17^th and an up-and-down from off the green at 18. A couple of additional bogeys were a slight setback but a battling 71 kept him in the tournament, five shots behind at five-under, and gives Harman pause for thought heading into the weekend.

Full report from Luke Baker at Royal Liverpool:

“It was tough, it was pretty windy and again it just feels so late coming down the stretch there.

“I think overall it is a very tough challenge of a golf course. I felt like I played so well at times, and it’s very difficult to make birdies really.

“Happy with how I played and ended up having to grind it out at the end, having to use different skills but all in all it was a good round.

“Long way to go. Brian [Harman’s] playing amazing. I watched him and he was playing so well. If you’d asked me if I wanted to be in the final group on Saturday I would have taken it. I don’t care how far I am behind.

“There’s a lot of golf to be played, and all you can do is play your own game, play each shot as it comes. Brian is clearly a long way ahead and he’s playing great golf so we’ll see what he does over the weekend but for me - keep doing the same things, stay consistent and we’ll see what we can do.”

American Brian Harman responded to missing the cut in the Masters in April by returning to his farm in Georgia and killing a pig and a turkey.

Three months later, the left-hander carved out a commanding five-shot lead over home favourite Tommy Fleetwood at the halfway stage of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.

Read the full report of Friday’s action below:

Brian Harman finished T6 at the Open last year. Now the American will go to sleep tonight with a five-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood after a super second round.

It’s quite the ask for Fleetwood and the rest of the chasing pack. Harman is not the most experienced in the latter stages of major championships but his form and history will have him favourite:

There are still a few players out on the course, but here is how the top of the leaderboard is looking currently:

-10: Harman

-5: Fleetwood

-4: Straka

-3: Min Woo Lee, Sharma, Day

-2: Spieth, Otaegui, Grillo

-1: McIlroy, Homa, Clark, Jordan and others

Lowry +7 (77), Fowler +3 (73), MacIntyre +3 (71)

Rickie Fowler went out of bounds twice up the 18th yesterday and he is very close to doing so again today. He just about escapes but finds himself in the bunker after three. Up and down to make the cut...and it’s superb from the sand from Rickie. He’ll be here at the weekend.

MacIntyre plays the last far more conservatively than the American and gets in for the par to also extend his stay at Hoylake.

One big name who won’t be here for the weekend is Shane Lowry who ends his birdie-less day with another bogey to card a round of 77 and finish at +7 for the tournament. Not the tournament he would have wanted.

Clark -1 (73), Schauffele +2 (74), Smith +2 (72)

Wyndham Clark makes a right mess of his third shot as his ball ends up in the greenside bunker. Faced with an awkward chip, he does well to get it out onto the green but he can only two putt for a par and a two-over-par round of 73.

Schauffele saves his first birdie of the day for the last to end at +2 and he is joined there by Cam Smith who taps in for his marvellous eagle to move inside the cut line after a one-over-par round of 72.

Clark -2 (17), Schauffele +3 (17), Smith +4 (17)

That is how you make the cut! An unbelievable second shot from Cameron Smith, whose fairway metal approach runs up the green, skirting the bunkers on the right edge before feeding down to within a couple of feet.

A virtual tap-in eagle for the defending champion who has saved his best for the last. He’ll be here for the weekend.

Fleetwood -5 (71), Scheffler +3 (75), Scott +3 (73)

Goodness me, you’re making it tricky for the home fans, Tommy. His second shot ends up next to the grandstand so he gets a free drop from the drop zone. He’s got the left bunkers in between him and the hole and his flop shot catches the downslope, sending the ball right off the other side of the green.

It’s a nice chip to five feet and he has that putt to stay at -5 and, crucially, in the final pairing for tomorrow...right in the heart! That is a gutsy even-par 71 in tough conditions. Having started today with the lead, he ends today five off Harman but tomorrow is a new day and Fleetwood will fancy his chances of closing down the American.

Scheffler, meanwhile, catches a huge break out of the bunker. His ball catches the face but somehow manages to still get out, with the ball spinning down to within tap-in range. A lucky break for the world number one who makes the cut on the number with that birdie.

A closing bogey for Scott who sits at +3 and also makes the cut on the number with Scheffler.

Clark -2 (17), Schauffele +3 (17), Smith +4 (17)

Cam Smith needs a birdie in his last two holes to make the cut and should have one at 17 after a beautiful tee shot into the green. But, from eight feet, the defending champion can’t convert. Another bad miss from a player whose skill lies in his putting and he now needs a birdie on the last to see the weekend.

Clark makes par from the sand with a divine chip but Schauffele can’t do the same from the same bunker and will need a par on the last to make the cut.