Shane Lowry did his Open hopes no favours after carding a six-over-par 77 in the third round on Saturday, and the Irishman complained about the set up of the course in testing conditions.
Shane Lowry expressed his dissatisfaction with the conditions at Royal Troon on Saturday, as the Irish golfer saw his lead in the Open Championship diminish during the challenging third round.
Lowry entered the third round as the frontrunner, with a two-shot advantage over Dan Brown and Justin Rose after completing the first half of the championship at seven-under-par. However, Saturday presented a new challenge as the wind and rain wreaked havoc for the players who teed off later.
Lowry, in particular, found it difficult to adjust, finishing with a six-over 77, putting him at one-over for the week and three shots behind the leader, Horschel. The back nine at Royal Troon proved to be especially challenging.
Lowry faced a challenging round due to the strong wind, having to use driver-driver at the 15th hole and making a bogey at the tough par-four. The 17th hole was no easier, as he had to hit driver at the par-three.
Lowry expressed his frustration with the tee box placements, stating, “It was a tough day out there. Not much fun. Driver, driver at 15. 16 felt endless. Driver at 17. And then at 18, you’re left wondering if you can even hit the fairway, let alone reach it, with it being 230-yards away.”
Please consider that my driver hit about 220-yards on the 17th hole. It’s quite challenging out there. It’s clear that the course is very difficult. However, one might wonder why there weren’t a couple of tees moved forward today. I believe that holes 15 and 17 – especially 15 being 500-yards playing against the wind.
It’s worth noting that the most iconic hole on the golf course is actually the shortest hole on The Open rota, the famous eighth hole, The Postage Stamp. In frustration, Lowry mentioned: “They are constantly making holes longer, yet the best hole on this course is only about 100 yards.”
Even though he’s fallen behind, Lowry is still very much in contention to secure his second Claret Jug, five years after his first victory. While he’s focused on catching up to Horschel, the Irishman acknowledged that he’ll need some time to process his disappointment from the third round. “I still have a shot at winning, but it’s tough at the moment,” he said.
I just finished, and I really wanted to sink that last shot. I knew Billy made a bogey, and I knew Dan [Brown] was obviously going to make a double. I mean, I would have been two strokes behind. Even three strokes back, you’re still in the running. It’s going to take me a couple of hours to get over today, and yeah. I’m feeling pretty disappointed now, but I have a job to do tomorrow and another good opportunity to win this tournament.
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