Brian Harman, whose passion is shooting wild turkeys, pigs and deer in the American deep south, is now on the hunt for another major big game trophy - the British Open.
The US marksman shot the lights out at Royal Liverpool on Friday, with a second-round six-under 65 to make the 151st edition of golf's most venerable championship his to lose.
At 10 under for the Championship at halfway, Harman is five shots clear of the field, as no-one could peg back the left-hander's substantial advantage following his brilliant opening rounds of 67 and 65.
"I've been a hunter my entire life - I enjoy the strategy of it," explained Harman after his round, which featured a run of four birdies in a row from the second hole, 12 straight pars and was capped by a 14-foot eagle putt at the last.
"Yeah, we eat a lot of wild meat at my house, so I enjoy butchering, and I do a lot of hunting."
Harman, a 36-year old from Sea Island, Georgia, who's enjoyed four wins as a pro and is ranked 26 in the world at the moment, compares the challenges of hunting to those of playing links golf.
"I enjoy the strategy of it. I like links golf. There's several different options to play golf holes. I enjoy the variety of shots you have to hit," he explained.
But his opponents will be hoping Harman, who killed his first deer at the age of 12 but is adamant he doesn't kill for sport, will end up butchering his own chances of winning a first major after making just one bogey in his first 36 holes.
"Brian's in control now. It's on him. I watched some of his round, he's made a ton of putts, he's chipped in, he's done what you need to around here, hitting fairways and greens, as well," said Jordan Spieth, one of his pursuers at two under.
Harman's half-way total of 132 was exactly the same as that posted by the last two winners of the Open at Hoylake - Tiger Woods in 2006 and Rory McIlroy in 2014 - and he's in prime position to go one better than the 2017 US Open when he finished second after being the 54-hole leader.
Harman's nearest contender is local hero Tommy Fleetwood, one of three overnight leaders after first round 66s, who had all the raucous support on the links but had to settle for a 71 to sit on five under.
Austria's Sepp Straka had six birdies on the back nine for a second-round 67 to move to four under, and there's a double Australian challenge with Min Woo Lee (68) and Jason Day (67) joining India's Shubhankar Sharma (71) in a group on three under.
But as the wind got up a little in the afternoon, no-one could threaten Harman's advantage with only 24 of the 156-strong field under par at halfway.
British favourite Rory McIlroy crept into the top dozen after a second-round 70 and still can't be ruled out. "Anyone who's under par has still got a chance," reckoned defending champion Cameron Smith, who also made it to the weekend - just - after an eagle at the last.
The Open also experienced a similar protest from environmental activists on Friday that other major British sporting events have faced this summer, with four people arrested after briefly stopping play around the 17th hole.
It came not long after Sydney's Travis Smyth struck the first hole-in-one at that newly created hole, saying it was a moment he'd remember for the rest of his life.
