With just four holes to play, Shane Lowry is in the healthy position of five under at the summit of the US Open leaderboard as he heads into the final day of the tournament in search of his first major win.
The Offaly man took a two stroke lead on American Andrew Landry at the end of a long day yesterday of 32 holes - 18 in the morning for his second-round even par 70 and 14 more in the afternoon.
A significant point in those 14 holes for Lowry, came after a bogey on the second hole. He hit his stride between the fourth and sixth holes which gave him a share of the lead before a decisive 20 footer on the seventh propelled him into pole position.
When you lead the U.S. Open by two on Saturday night... @ShaneLowryGolf pic.twitter.com/oqwtaSoVJK
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 19, 2016
A bogey on the Par 3 eighth cut his momentum down briefly but he responded impressively, hitting a 179 yard drive on the ninth in to six feet, which enabled him to recapture the lead. And a wedge approach on the Par 5 12th left him sitting at five under and two clear of the chase at the end of an exhausting day at the weather affected tournament.
And after the hectic day, Lowry was glad of the break:
"I was getting tired toward the end. If I had to play another four holes, it would have been quite difficult. I beat a field of this quality alread. So there’s no reason I can’t go out and do it again tomorrow."
"We all know that this course can jump up and bite you in a split-second. I’m two ahead with 22 holes left – let’s not get ahead of ourselves. These are the best golfers in the world behind me."
This man is going to turn a bad weekend for Irish sport into a great one @ShaneLowryGolf #shanelowrysonfire #USOpen pic.twitter.com/T7mcMJnV6H
— Aidan O Mahony (@GmailMahony) June 19, 2016
Good luck to you @ShaneLowryGolf US Open Leader. You can do it Shane! pic.twitter.com/PlZWwRIUQZ
— Gavin Duffy (@GavinDuffy) June 19, 2016
Waking up to news @ShaneLowryGolf is leading Us open. Candles will be lit in every church in Midlands for him today
— Niall Breslin (@nbrez) June 19, 2016
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