He’ll need a major win to scrub the impact of that collapse from the minds of golf fans, and he could have his chance to do that Sunday at Oakmont Country Club.
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South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, who tied for second in last year’s U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, moves up the leaderboard with birdies on the first two holes in Sunday’s final round.
Andrew Landry hits from the fairway on the 15th hole during the delayed third round of the U.S. Open golf championship at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday, June 19, 2016, in Oakmont, Pa.
Viewers can watch the 2016 U.S. Open final round live online and see if Ireland’s Shane Lowry can hold onto his lead and take home the first major of his career.
And he notched his biggest win at the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, holding off Bubba Watson for a two-stroke victory.
The burly 29-year-old from Clara in County Offaly did well to salvage a par at the last, coolly sinking a 10-footer to card a five-under 65 on one of the toughest golf courses in the world before pumping his fist in delight.
“You’re going to see the best players in the world having the hardest time shooting good scores”, 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy predicted before the tournament started.
Lowry was at 7-under 203, the best 54-hole score in nine U.S. Opens at Oakmont, and matching Tom Watson’s score from the 1978 PGA Champion. Players like Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia have all been near the top along with fresh faces like Andrew Landry and Daniel Summerhays.
Landry was more determined than ever not to go away.
He made two quick bogeys, steadied himself with a par on the 16th and then drove the 17th green for a two-putt birdie.
Landry, the 624th-ranked golfer in the world, also will be in the final pairing after he drilled a 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to finish off an even-par 70.
He was at 2 under through 13 holes, still very much a factor as he tries to atone for his gaffe on the 18th hole at Chambers Bay previous year in the U.S. Open. This might be no less shocking.
He hasn’t flinched all week, even thinking about being in the last group at his first major.
Day said that “physically and mentally” it could be tougher on those players who would have to get up at the crack of dawn to finish their rounds. “That’s what you always hope for and dream for”. No matter what happens, I just have to get up and play the next shot.
In the penultimate pairing, Johnson and Westwood form a duo that have both come close to winning a major tournament on multiple occasions, but who have both been unable nail it down.
The only other player under par was Branden Grace, who finished his 66 on Saturday and was at 1-under 209.
Lowry had played 14 holes of the third round when darkness called a halt to the activity Saturday night.
Lowry was up by three when play resumed Sunday morning and wasted little time adding to his advantage. He holed an 11-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 15th and drained a 7-footer for birdie on the par-4 17th. He had almost seven hours before he teed off in the final round. Day has responded quite well after his opening round of 76, coming back with a 69 in the second and a 66 in the third. Now he is eight shots back.
Shane Lowry’s lead is down to a single stroke at the U.S. Open.
He was three shots clear going into the final round at Pebble Beach in 2010, and it disappeared with one funky lie that led to triple bogey on the second hole.
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“Got off to a dream start for moving day and then just kind of boned a wedge, kind of put a bad swing on a pretty stock shot that killed momentum”.
