It was a frustrating and painful day for overnight leader Shane Lowry on Saturday, as the 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year struggled in brutal conditions to fall back at The Open Championship.
Starting the third round, Lowry led both Justin Rose and Daniel Brown by two strokes at seven-under, with the the 37-year-old looking to once again excel in tough weather to extend his advantage further.
However, despite a solid start, it was the iconic Postage Stamp that started a downward spiral for Lowry, as a double bogey at the par 3 meant a painful finish over the remaining holes, especially with 25mph wind and rain thrown in.
"Yeah, it was hard. Yeah, playing a par-3 hitting drivers is not much crack. Roll the ball back, huh?" joked Lowry, who is now one-under and three back of American, Billy Horschel, following his six-over-par 77.
There's no denying that the morning wave had the best of the weather on Saturday, as the likes of Sam Burns and Thriston Lawrence made huge moves to sit one shot back of the lead. Certainly, for once, the weather actually seemed to follow the forecast but, according to Lowry, measures should have been made in preparation for it.
"Look, I don't really know what to say. It was a grind. It wasn't much fun. Driver, driver into 15. 16 playing ridiculously long. Driver into 17. Then 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. Bear in mind my driver pitched about 220 yards on the 17th hole.
"So, yeah, it's not much fun out there. Circumstantial as well, it's obviously very difficult. But you'd have to question why there wasn't a couple of tees put forward today, to be honest. 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".
Despite the gripe, Lowry is just three shots back going into the final day, but will need a low round to secure a second Claret Jug. "This is going to take me a couple hours to get over today. I'm obviously pretty good now, but I have a job to do tomorrow and a similar chance to win this tournament," stated Lowry.
"Just hard because I felt like I played unbelievable golf today. Missed the first fairway and then didn't miss another fairway until 16. Hit some great iron shots, just didn't hole the putts early on when I had the chances, and then I missed a few par putts. On the way in, I felt like I couldn't make a par. Obviously it was hard. It's harder in that situation, but it is what it is."
