Brian Harman surges to the top of the British Open leaderboard, while Rory McIlroy shows notable progress.

Brian Harman takes the lead at the Open Championship in Liverpool.

American golfer Brian Harman had a strong start in the second round of the Open, taking the lead with a series of early birdies. Harman, who was one stroke behind the three-way leaders at the start of the day, quickly moved ahead with birdies at the second, third, fourth, and fifth holes. He nearly had an eagle at the fifth, as his chip from off the green hit the flag and almost dropped in. Harman continued his steady play, making four consecutive pars to reach the turn in 31 strokes. Although he cooled down on the back nine, he saved par with a sensational chip-in at the par-four 12th. Harman remained at eight under with four holes left to play.

Meanwhile, overnight leaders Emiliano Grillo, Tommy Fleetwood, and Christo Lamprecht had mixed results in their second rounds. Grillo dropped back after a double-bogey at the second and a bogey at the third, but managed to recover and reach four under with four holes remaining. Fleetwood and Lamprecht were set to tee off later in the day. Australian golfer Min Woo Lee also had a strong start, carding a three-under 68 to reach three under for the tournament.

The Open continued to draw large crowds, with spectators lining the fairways alongside the picturesque Dee Estuary. However, play was briefly halted at the 17th hole by Just Stop Oil protesters, who set off orange flares. The individuals were quickly removed with the assistance of American golfer Billy Horschel.

Rory McIlroy, a favorite to win the tournament, had a solid start to his second round. He rolled in a birdie putt at the challenging par-four opening hole, moving him to one under for the championship. McIlroy had a chance for another birdie at the third, but missed a four-foot putt. He earned another birdie with a superb rescue shot from a bunker at the fifth, putting him firmly in contention as he reached the turn at two under. McIlroy's playing partner Justin Rose struggled, going out of bounds at the third and dropping a shot to slip to five over. Masters champion Jon Rahm had a steady start with four pars, followed by back-to-back birdies to bring him to one over for the tournament before a bogey at the ninth.

Matthew Southgate, playing in the first group of the day, finished with an eagle at the 18th hole to take the early clubhouse lead at one under par. Australian golfer Travis Smyth provided a highlight of the day with a hole-in-one at the 17th, but with a score of eight over, he is likely to miss the cut. Defending champion Cameron Smith is set to begin his second round just before 3 p.m.

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