OAKMONT, Pa. – It’s just what everyone expected going into the 116th US Open: Shane Lowry and Andrew Landry dueling it out in the final Sunday pairing.
Well, not exactly. But that’s how Sunday afternoon’s final round will unfold. The leaders tee off at 3:30 p.m.
Lowry, completing his third round Sunday morning, opened up a commanding four-shot lead at Oakmont Country Club.
The 29-year-old Irishman made two birdies early Sunday morning to finish a round of 5-under 65 and move within 18 holes of his first major title. Lowry is at 7-under through three rounds, four shots clear of Dustin Johnson and Andrew Landry and five up on Lee Westwood and Daniel Summerhays.
Lowry was up by two shots when play resumed Sunday and quickly added to his lead with an 11-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 15th. Then he drained a 7-footer for birdie on the par-4 17th.
A 10-foot par putt on the 18th helped him tie Summerhays and Louis Oosthuizen for the low round of the tournament.
To date, Lowry’s best career win was last year’s WGC-Bridgestone.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. These are the best golfers in the world behind me,” Lowry said Saturday. “I have to go out there and do what I’ve been doing all week.”
Landry, the 624th-ranked golfer in the world, also will be in the final pairing after he drilled a 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to finish off an even-par 70. Landry made his way into the tournament as a qualifier and had made just 5 of 11 cuts coming in. He is trying to become the first player in more than a century to win the US Open in his first try.