Lowry leads, Landry hanging in at U.S. Open
OAKMONT – The rains are gone, the sun is out and the famously fast greens at Oakmont Country Club are firming up.
That means the battle for the lead is tightening at the 116th U.S. Open.
It was apparent during the third round Saturday, when four players held or shared the lead and no one was permitted more than a two-stroke edge before darkness stopped play at 8:47 p.m.
Shane Lowry, a burly Irishman whose last win came in the 2015 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club in Akron, was leading by two shots over the surprising Andrew Landry when play was stopped. Lowry will continue 7 a.m. today, then return for the final round this afternoon. Tee times won’t be established until after the third round is completed.
“I definitely felt comfortable out there,” Lowry said. “I’m quite aware of what’s going on around me and it’s quite good. This is right where you want to be.”
The day will be magical for someone because none of the top 10 on the leaderboard has won a major title.
The leader in the clubhouse is Branden Grace, who shot a 4-under 66 and is currently in sixth place at 1-under par.
“The last stretch is not the easiest from 15 onwards,” Grace said. “Two birdies in the last three is great. I’m in a good position to maybe put my hands on one tomorrow.”
The big stage of the Open did not phase Landry, who got here as a qualifier but has earned the respect of the golf world with his steady play in the third round. Landry made the turn with only one bogey, on the par-4 ninth, when he tugged his approach into the rough, short-siding the pin. Landry has 11 pars, a birdie and a bogey in his round.
Landry has hovered at or near the top of the leaderboard for all three rounds, none of which concluded on the day it began, thanks to a series of thunderstorms Thursday.
“I feel very comfortable. I feel like this golf course suits me very well,” Landry said. “I can just get out there and play my game. I’m not the player who’s going to go out and shoot 28 under par. I’ve never been that guy, so I’m always the guy that’s going to kind of just dink it around right there and make pars and throw in a couple birdies.”
Dustin Johnson, who started the round a stroke behind Landry, stretched his lead to two strokes at one point. But a double-bogey on the par-4 third hole brought him back. The hole turned bad when Johnson’s approached did not hit far enough into the green and rolled back down to the fairway. He is at 2-under, along with Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood.
Jason Day made the biggest move on this hot, sunny day, moving up 37 positions to a tie for eighth place, shooting 4-under par and standing at 1-over for the tournament.
“I didn’t want to come back and finish (Sunday),” Day said. “These guys have to get up at 5 o’clock. It might be tougher physically and mentally on those guys. Hopefully, I give myself an opportunity. Even though it’s hard and stressful, I enjoy those times. I just tried to push forward.”
Defending champion Jordan Spieth shot even par but is at 4-over par after a pair of 72s and even-par 70.
The cutline after the second round was 6-over par, a good thing for Angel Cabrera, who won the last U.S. Open played at Oakmont in 2007. Cabrera’s seventh and final bogey of the second round did not prove disastrous but it put him at 6-over following a 76. He stayed there after an even-par round.
Other top players were not so fortunate.
Phil Mickelson, who has never won a U.S. Open but finished second a record six times, finished the second round at 7-over following a 73.
Rory McIlroy, No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings, was done in by a pair of double-bogeys on the front nine. McIlroy, a 2011 U.S. Open winner at Congressional in Washington, D.C., was 8-over par.
Rickie Fowler, ranked No. 5, shot 5-over 40 on the front nine of the second round to seal his fate. Fowler, who has three wins in his career, finished at 11-over par.
“It’s just confidence and going out and making good swings off tees,” he said. “You’ve got to drive it well. I felt like that’s something I did really well in ’14. I put the ball in play and I didn’t put myself in trouble. That’s probably been one of the biggest things, that and not making as many putts.”
Justin Rose was at 8-over and Ernie Els 10-over.