Lowry in prime position to claim US Open after third-round blitz
Published:
A sublime five-under par from Ireland’s Shane Lowry moved him four shots clear of the pack at the US Open and into odds-on favouritism with Ladbrokes.
Starting the third round on two-under par and two shots back of the leader Dustin Johnson, a seven-birdie round put the 29-year-old 18 holes away from a first major title.
As a result, Ladbrokes made Lowry their 5/6 favourite ahead of Sunday’s final round at Oakmont, with Johnson a 7/2 chance and Lee Westwood a distant third-favourite at 12s.
It has been a chaotic tournament at the Pennsylvania course, with rain wiping out play on Thursday and rounds scattered across the resulting days in order to catch up on time.
Thankfully, Sunday’s final round is due to start as planned, with both of the last two groups filled with players looking to break their major tournament duck.
Some of them, like Lowry and PGA Tour rookie Andrew Landry, are looking to get the monkey off their backs early on in their careers, while the others – Johnson and Westwood – are hoping to end a long wait for success.
The Englishman in particular would like to finally grab hold of a major title, having had nine top three finishes in the four showpiece events without ever winning one in his career.
With five shots to make up on Lowry at Oakmont though, Westwood may well have to wait even longer to quench his major thirst.
Similarly, Johnson is gaining a reputation as being something of a majors nearly man, especially after combusting in this event last year to hand the title to Jordan Spieth.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
