Shane Lowry entered Saturday’s round of the Open Championship with a three-shot lead but walked off the golf course trailing by three. Royal Troon’s conditions finally got the best of him.
He carded a 6-over 77 to drop to 1-under total, plummeting him to solo ninth on the leaderboard. Billy Horschel leads the field by one after he fired off a 2-under 69 to get to a 4-under overall.
Lowry started strong on Saturday, but things began to unravel once he reached the par-3 8th, better known as ‘The Postage Stamp.’
“Honestly, it was brutal,” Lowry said.
“For me, the 8th hole was killer, really. Make par there, and you can still shoot 3 or 4-over and still be leading the tournament. Just pulled my wedge shot there. Look, I don’t know what to say. It was a grind. It wasn’t much fun.”
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Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images
The 2019 Open champion made a double bogey on that tiny 130-yard par-3 and did not recover.
Lowry dropped two more shots on the 11th and 12th. He made par on the par-4 13th but dropped two more strokes on 14 and 15. Lowry had 21 feet for par on the 18th, but his ball came up just short, which caused him to drop one more spot.
He explained how he had to use the driver so much on the back nine, which can be tricky on a links golf course.
“You’re standing on the 18th tee wondering if you can actually hit the fairway if you can reach the fairway, and it’s 230 yards to the fairway,” he said. “Bear in mind my driver pitched about 220 yards on the 17th hole. So, yeah, it’s not much fun out there.”
Like Dustin Johnson, many players described the back nine as some of the most challenging golf they have ever played. Lowry seemingly agreed after his round as he vented his frustrations.
“It’s very difficult. But you’d have to question why there wasn’t a couple of tees put forward today, to be honest,” Lowry said.
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Shane Lowry after Round Three.
Photo by Jane Barlow/Getty Images
“I think 15 and 17—like 15 is 500 yards playing into that wind, it’s—yeah, they keep trying to make holes longer, yet the best hole in this course is about 100 yards.”
The Irishman is three shots back, so he still has a shot at winning on Sunday, but he faces a much taller task.
“I have a job tomorrow and a similar chance to win this tournament,” he said.
“Look, there’s no doubt I’m going to go out there tomorrow thinking I can win the tournament, but it’s just hard right now.”
Lowry stated he needed a couple of hours to process and prepare for the final day of play.
He will play alongside Adam Scott at 8:45 a.m. ET in the final round.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @golf_girl_sl.
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