Ireland’s Shane Lowry is the leader at the close of day number three at the 116th U.S. Open at Oakmont. The 29 year-old Lowry sits at 5-under par through 50 holes, and leads surprise early-round leader Andrew Landry by two shots. The trio Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood are tied for third at 2-under par, three off the lead.
Lowry’s approach on No. 12 was the key hole for the clubhouse leader.
Just tap it in. @ShaneLowry takes a two-shot lead. #USOpen https://t.co/2VuOghSbIV
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2016
The USGA suspended third round play at 8:49 p.m. due to darkness. Play will resume at 7 am on Sunday.
Developing…
UPDATE: The completion of round three is in the books, and Shane Lowry has extended his lead heading into the final 18 holes. The Irish golfer carded two birdies over his final four holes, and now sits at 7-under, four strokes ahead of Dustin Johnson and Andrew Landry, who are tied for the 2nd spot at 3-under par.
Lee Westwood and Daniel Summerhays round out the top five at 2-under par, five sahots behind the leader Lowry. Sergio Garcia shot 2-over on his final four holes, and sits at even-par, seven strokes out.
Shane Lowry heading back to the clubhouse 2 shots clear. pic.twitter.com/w0pzLOhnkI
— SkratchTV (@skratchTV) June 19, 2016
Lowry retweeted this highlight reel from the USGA.
THE 4 STORYLINES
1. McIlroy Misses Cut with Double Bogey on Final Hole
Rory McIlroy reached the final hole of his round two on Saturday needing a par to play the weekend. Instead the 2011 U.S. Open winner double bogeyed and headed home.
The scorecard
Rory needed par on the final 9th hole to make the cut
Double bogeys to end 2016 #usopen pic.twitter.com/0DBVFfNJYF
— Pro Golf Weekly (@ProGolfWeekly) June 18, 2016
The shot
The shot that cost Rory the weekend #usopen. Golf announcer jinx ? https://t.co/jve2DjAEAh
— Pro Golf Weekly (@ProGolfWeekly) June 18, 2016
2. Phil’s Grand Slam Hopes Dashed
Phil Mickelson will have to wait another year for the grand slam. Mickelson finished at 7-over and missed the cut line by a single stroke, as did 2006 winner Geoff Ogilvy. Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, and the aforementioned McIlroy carded 8-over pars.
Here’s a look at the scores of former U.S. Open Winners who missed the cut:
Rory McIlroy (+8)
Phil Mickelson (+7)
Geoff Ogilvy (+7)
Justin Rose (+8)
David Toms (+8)
Ernie Els (+10)
Retief Goosen (+10)
Webb Simpson (+11)
3. Andrew Landry is hanging tough
The surprise early round leader started to fade in the early going of his second round, going bogey, bogey, double bogey on 7, 8, and 9. But pulled it together on the final nine, shooting 3-under, and played even-par solid for his third round. The player who has made only 5 PGA Tour cuts, with his best finish being T-41, does not appear fazed, and may have found lightning in a bottle.
Who exactly is Andrew Landry? Well, he’s not without confidence, despite his lack of success on tour.
Who is Andrew Landry?
He's the leader of the U.S. Open. https://t.co/vCgmyKph4f
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 18, 2016
4. Jason Day climbed back into contention
While Rory faded, and Jordan sort of slogged, Jason Day showed why he’s the world’s best. The 28 year-old Aussie, who many had counted out after Friday, had quite a round for himself on Saturday, shooting 4-under par 66 and putting himself in contention for Sunday, tied for the 8th spot.
Day’s wife, Ellie, sent out a belated tweet.
Delayed tweet but WOOOO
— Ellie Day (@ellielaneday) June 18, 2016
Jason Day's 4-under 66 in Round 3 of the #USOpen earned him the @Lexus Top Performance of the Day.https://t.co/hJ9bS2VzzX
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 19, 2016
