Shane Lowry began the final day of the U.S. Open by making two birdies to cap off a 5-under 65 and take a four-shot lead into the final round.
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If the notoriously tricky Oakmont Country Club was not enough to contend with, Johnson – who was three strokes adrift of Shane Lowry at the start of the day – also had a potential penalty weighing on his mind in Pennsylvania on Sunday.
He finished tied for second in last year’s U.S. Open. It dropped down 5 feet from the hole for a birdie that wrapped up a U.S. Open that was overdue.
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 past year in the U.S. Open.
Lowry made an ideal start on a sunny morning at Oakmont, hitting his approach at the par-four 15th to 10 feet and sinking the birdie putt to extend his lead to four shots at six under.
The timing of it better than that.
Johnson finished at 4-under 276, the lowest winning score in nine U.S. Opens at Oakmont.
After finding the bunker off the tee and doing well to get away with just a bogey at the fifth, the Irishman holed clutch putts over the next two holes before getting up-and-down from the rough to save par at the eighth.
As such, he became the first player since Payne Stewart in 1998 to blow a 54-hole lead of four or more strokes in a U.S. Open. This might be no less shocking. The final top 25 at the end of the regular season will earn PGA Tour cards. He couldn’t get up and down for birdie and when he couldn’t convert a birdie on the 18th he ended up missing out on the weekend at the one major he lacks for the first time since 2007, the last time the tournament visited Oakmont.
“To be honest I would have taken four pars and gone home for a little rest, ” said Lowry, who won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron a year ago, just 115 miles from Oakmont. “That’s what you always hope for and dream for. Who knows what can happen?”
“I’ve been here a bunch of times and haven’t quite got it done”, Johnson said.
Lee Westwood and Daniel Summerhays each had 69 and were five back.
Grace pieced together a 66 to reach 1-under 209, four shots behind Lowry. The four holes he played Sunday morning to wrap up the third round were all about setting the stage for the afternoon. Two holes later, his tee shot didn’t quite clear the left bunker and left Lowry with a tough lie in the thick grass of the collar of the bunker. His deft wedge rolled to 7 feet for a birdie, and a par ended a handsome morning.
Lowry will try to bring Irish golf its 10th major in the past 10 years, and third U.S. Open since 2010 joining Rory McIlroy (2011) and Graeme McDowell (2010), both from Northern Ireland. However, the USGA looked at video and made it sound that he might get a one-shot penalty.
The USGA wanted him to know that a one-shot penalty was likely so he could play accordingly, but it led to confusion over the back nine – for Johnson and for the players trying to catch him. He was at even-par 210, along with Scott Piercy, who also had a 72.
The leader in the clubhouse when the day ended was Branden Grace, who previous year at Chambers Bay was tied for the lead until he hit 3-wood onto the train track and out-of-bounds for a double bogey that cost him. He was chasing down Darren Clarke in the 2011 British Open when he hit a 2-iron out-of-bounds on the 14th hole. He finished with a 6-foot par putt on the 18th and a pump of the fist. Were they tied? Was Johnson one shot behind? But he was still in the game.
His father left him a message that said, “I have all the faith in the world you can do this”.
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“And no”, he added, “it didn’t affect the way I played”.
