LONDON – Leader Shane Lowry made a nervy start to his final
round at the Open Championship Sunday as he bogeyed the first hole at
Royal Portrush.
The Irishman, whose course-record 8-under-par 63 left him
16-under-par overnight, found the rough off the tee, the bunker with
his second but made a good five-foot putt to make a bogey five.
With Tommy Fleetwood making par at the first, Lowry's lead dropped to
three, while Lee Westwood and Justin Rose were next best at
9-under-par early in their rounds.
Chasing his first major win, Lowry was given a huge ovation at the
Northern Ireland course as he banged his first tee shot but it went
left into the heavy rough.
Though he found a decent lie, his approach caught the grass above the
greenside bunker and rolled back into the sand.
His third was short and his first putt left him a testing five-footer
but he rolled it in well to limit the damage.
Lowry held a four-shot lead in the US Open in 2016, only to lose it
as Dustin Johnson won his first major.
With a gusting wind blowing hard and rain predicted later in the day,
tee times were brought forward by an hour.
American Justin Thomas was one of the early players to make a
move, picking up four shots in his first eight holes to be
8-under-par for the tournament.
Italian Francesco Molinari finished his year as Open champion with a
fine 5-under-par 66 to be 3-under-par for the tournament.