LONDON
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mso-no-proof:yes">– Irishman Shane Lowry stayed a shot clear of the field
two thirds of the way through an absorbing third round of the Open
Championship on Saturday as the big guns came to the fore in perfect
conditions.
Lowry was 13-under-par through 12 holes of round three, 5-under-par
for the day, one shot better than Englishman Tommy Fleetwood, who
had played a hole more, and two ahead of JB Holmes, who shared the
overnight lead with Lowry.
Justin Rose picked up four birdies on the back nine to be 10-under,
Lee Westwood was 9-under and Brooks Koepka and Rickie Fowler
8-under-par.
With no wind, players made the most of the benign conditions and on
what's generally known as moving day, the big names made their move.
But none more so than Lowry, who birdied three, five and nine to turn
in 3-under-par and added two more, at 10 and 12 to reach
13-under-par.
What a performance 👏 A new course record 6️⃣3️⃣ #TheOpen #NTTDATAWall pic.twitter.com/ULrYy1qPlF
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2019
Some of the cheers were reminiscent of the Ryder Cup and Lowry
revelled in the atmosphere as he kept his nose in front.
Fleetwood joined him at the top on 12-under at one stage, but two big
hits took Lowry to the green at the par-five 12th and two good putts
gave him another birdie.
Englishman Fleetwood, like Lowry chasing his first major, was
5-under-par for the day through 13 holes.
Holmes kept his cool while others were going crazy around him,
birdieing the second and third, and adding a third at the 12th to
stay just two off the pace.
Rose was quiet on the front nine with just one birdie but an eagle at
the 12th sparked him into life and birdies at 10 and 12 took him to
10-under.
The 46-year-old Westwood, who has finished in the top three in each
of the four majors but has still to win one, hit the front early on
but dropped a shot to be 9-under-par through 13.
What a round of golf @ShaneLowryGolf👏👏👏 #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/xBx3fuLihh
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 20, 2019
Fowler put himself in contention with a fine 5-under-par 66 to be
8-under.
"I'm going to have to go out and attack tomorrow," he said. "I've put
myself in a position to give it a go."
Defending champion Francesco Molinari, who made the halfway cut right
on the mark, carded a 1-over-par 72 to be 2-over-par for the
tournament, 12 off the pace.
"Obviously I would have liked to have a better defence of my title,
but at the same time you realize that you don't have the trophy but
your name is still going to be on it," Molinari told reporters.
"So, bittersweet for now, that's all I can think."