One of the greatest sports stories in Irish history may be just 24 hours away from reality.
Shane Lowry, one of the country’s own, has the iconic Claret Jug within grasp after he separated himself from the field at the 148th Open Championship on Saturday.
Lowry took advantage of good scoring conditions and eight birdies later recorded a near-record 63 on moving day at Royal Portrush.
“This is incredible,” said Lowry after he sent the home-country fans into a frenzy with five birdies over his final nine holes including three straight at the 15th, the difficult par three 16th and the par four 17th that was reachable with a great tee shot. “My mind’s a bit fuzzy,” Lowry said as he tried to comprehend a four-shot lead that he’ll take into the final round.
“I’m very excited for tomorrow,” he said with a broad grin on his bearded face.
One thing the field won’t be excited about is the weather forecast. It calls for rain, high winds that could gust to 40 miles per hour and overall difficult conditions.
Here’s how the challengers are stacked up behind the leader:
12-Under: Tommy Fleetwood (66): Fleetwood was steady all day. Five birdies and not a single bogey on his scorecard and a 66 that was totally overshadowed by Lowry’s performance.
10-Under: J.B. Holmes (69): Holmes wasn’t as sharp as he’s been the previous two rounds. He hung tough but watched Lowry pull away from him on the final nine. Holmes birdied the final hole to shoot 69 and that got him into the next-to-last pairing with mighty Brooks Koepka.
Nine-Under: Brooks Koepka birdied the final two holes to shoot 67 but it’s the worst he could have shot. His putter simply hasn’t worked for him like it has in previous majors. He basically made nothing all day until the 18th. He’ll start in the hole, a full seven shot behind Lowry but Koepka was encouraged by the weather forecast. “Tough conditions will make it an advantage for me,” said Koepka, whose ball-striking has been spot-on.
Justin Rose: Rose shot 68 and like Koepka, he’s seven back and has a lot of ground to make up. His putter as kept him in it. If Koepka had been putting like Rose, he’d probably be 20-under.
Eight-under: Lee Westwood: Westy had it to 10-under at the turn but two bogeys and no birdies coming home dropped him eight shots off the pace. With putting the most questionable part of his game, he’s probably too far back to win his first major.
Rickie Fowler: Once again, Rickie’s in contention. A really super round of 66 got him on the first page of the leader-board but like Westwood, he’s eight back.
Seven-Under: Danny Willett: Willett’s return to championship form continues. He shot 65, second low round of the afternoon to Lowry.
John Rahm: Rahm has been solid but he’s probably too far behind. Shot 68 on day three.
Tony Finau: Tony holed a magnificent flop shot from left of the green at the 18th that drew a huge roar from the spectators and got him in the house with 68.
Jordan Spieth: Spieth’s putter is working but the rest of his game is not. His ball striking hasn’t been good enough for him to be a serious contender and in the predicted wind for Sunday, Jordy could really struggle. He finished with 69.
“It’s gonna be a difficult 24 hours,” the championship leader predicted after his round. “Hopefully I can stick to my game plan and stick to my mental process.”
Lowry won’t have to wait around all day. The R&A, anticipating the bad weather, has moved up the tee times. Lowry and Fleetwood will tee off at 8:47 a.m. EDT (1:37 pm in Ireland); Koepka and Holmes go at 8:37; Fowler and Rose at 8:27; Willett and Westwood at 8:17, Rahm and Finau at 8:07, Spieth and Henrik Stenson at 7:57.
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