U.S. Open Title There For Shane Lowry To Win Or Lose

The U.S. Open Championship is there for the taking, there for Shane Lowry.

There’s only 18 holes left between the jovial Irishman and his first major championship.

But what a difficult 18 holes they will be at Oakmont, which has now dried out and has greens promising to be faster than table tops.

Lowry had a brilliant early Sunday morning. He had four holes to play in his third round and all he did was birdie the 15th right out of the box to go six–under par then he added another with a seven-foot birdie putt at the gettable par four 17th. Lowry then made a sweet par save at the 18th by holing a 10-foot par putt for an amazing 65 and sent the message that he’s the man to beat when he tees off around 3:30 in the afternoon.

He will play with long-shot, golf’s Rocky Balboa — Andrew Landry, who has refused to leave center stage. Landry finished with a 70 and holed a 40-footer for birdie at 18 to finish birdie-birdie and beat Dustin Johnson into the final pairing.

Landry and Johnson are a three-under with Johnson shooting 71. It’s a good scenario for him. There’s less pressure on him and he can now chase rather than be the one in everyone’s cross-hairs.

Lee Westwood will play with Johnson. He’s at two-under with Daniel Summerhays. The only other player under par — Braden Grace — finished on Saturday and was able to have a leisurely Sunday morning. Grace is six shots back but this is Oakmont and no lead is safe.

Jason Day will start eight behind and will need a low round, perhaps a Johnny Miller-like 63 to have any chance at the championship.

But if Lowry’s brilliant play continues, he will be hard to catch.

“I would have taken four pars and went home for a little rest,” Lowry said of his morning’s work. “It was a really good morning’s work for me and I’m looking forward to getting out there this afternoon and see what I can do.”

Lowry called it “one of the best rounds of my life.”

He won’t need another 65 to win.

Par will be his best friend.