The hunter finds himself being hunted at Hoylake as Jon Rahm came roaring on to the trail of runaway British Open leader Brian Harman.
The American pacesetter maintained his yawning overnight lead at Royal Liverpool and will enter Sunday's final round five shots clear of compatriot Cameron Young.
But if the hunter from the US deep south - christened, much to his amusement, as "the butcher of Hoylake" by gleeful British media after revelations about his kills of wild pigs, deer and alligators - is worried about any big beasts on the golf course, it should be Rahm.
For the Spanish world No.3 shifted into another gear on moving day on Saturday, firing one of the great rounds at the 151st Championship to power into contention.
The Spaniard roared up the leaderboard, making hay in the damp but gentle conditions early on to shoot an eight-under par 63, one shot outside the record score in any major which leaves him third, six shots behind Harman.
"That is the best round I have played on a links course ever," beamed Rahm, who followed a birdie on the fifth with four in succession from the ninth before picking up further shots on the 15th, 16th and 18th in a back nine of 30.
"It feels really good but there is a lot of work to do tomorrow."
Indeed there is. For though his round propelled Masters champion Rahm from two over - he had made the cut by just one stroke - to six under just minutes before Harman started his round, the American responded with remarkable quality after a nervous start.
Dropping two shots in his first four holes, his lead over Rahm had sunk to just two before he rallied brilliantly, shooting birdies at the fifth, ninth, 12th and 13th which took took him to 12 under par.
"You'd be foolish not to envision (winning the Open), and I've thought about winning majors for my whole entire life," said Harman, who finished runner-up at the 2017 US Open after leading at 54 holes.
"It's the whole reason I work as hard as I do and why I practise and sacrifice as much as I do. If that's going to come to fruition for me tomorrow, it has to be all about the golf.
"It has to be execution and just staying in the moment."
Five tied at five under are his other nearest challengers, seven shots adrift. They're headed by Norway's Viktor Hovland, who shot 66 to move to five under, Frenchman Antoine Rozner (67), Austrian Sepp Straka (70), Australian Jason Day (69) and local hero Tommy Fleetwood (71).
World No.2 Rory McIlroy snapped up three early birdies but lost momentum en route to a 69. His hopes of claiming a fifth major title at the scene of his 2014 triumph are now hanging by a thread at three under.
But all eyes will be on Harman on Sunday, as he is partnered in the final group by Young, the man who shot a 66 on Saturday to keep up the pressure and will try to go one better than last year.
At St Andrews, Young partnered Cameron Smith in the penultimate group, and ended up finishing as the Australian's nearest challenger.
But Harman, whose putting has been on another level to anyone else's all week, reckons he's ready for all his hunters.
"Hunting helps with the patience and the strategy (on the golf course), for sure.
"When I go out turkey hunting, I can spend all day out there, and it's something else that I do that makes me lose track of time."
