Shane Lowry right in contention for US Open crown

By Simon Lewis, Irish Examiner

Shane Lowry will go into Sunday's final round of the US Open just three shots off the lead and trying desperately hard not to picture himself becoming Ireland's fifth major champion of the modern era.

The 28-year-old from Clara, Co Offaly shot a level-par 70 to stay at one-under-par for the championship on another tough day at Chambers Bay - that saw Jason Day climb off his sick bed after suffering vertigo during his second round to take a share of a fourway lead with 18 holes still to play.

Australian Day, 27, carded a two-under 68 in the most trying of circumstances which included a brief return of the Benign Positional Vertigo he had suffered playing the final hole on Friday and left him feeling nauseous for the rest of his third round.

He birdied his last two holes to reach four-under-par to share the 54-hole lead with Americans Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth as well as Branden Grace of South Africa.

Lowry will begin his final round in a tie for fifth place alongside Australian Cameron Smith, American JB Holmes and South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen, who shot the round of the day, a four-under 66.

That group of eight players are the only ones still under-par for the tournament, with Oosthuizen and Spieth, the current Masters champion, the only major winners, potentially setting up a dramatic final day's golf by the shores of Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest.

For the Irishman it will be a journey into the unknown, having claimed a top 10 finish at last year's Open Championship at Hoylake without ever coming into genuine contention.

Yet the world number 57 knows he has to keep his emotions in check throughout another gruelling day's play if he is to join compatriots Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington as an Irish major champion.

“It's hard. It is hard. It's not jealousy but it's like, you'd love to win one,” Lowry said of the thought of emulating an illustrious quartet.

“But you can't get ahead of yourself, you can't think about that. A couple of times today on the golf course I did let myself think ahead to tomorrow and I gave myself a slap in the face fairly quick and got on with things. That's just what I have to do tomorrow as well.

“I don't know what's going to happen or how I'm going to feel when I'm on the first tee tomorrow. Obviously I'm going to be a little nervous, I was a little anxious going out there today but I ripped one down the first and hit an 8-iron straight at the flag and from there on I had a spring in my step,” said the Offaly man.

“I could be nervous, I could be fine and I could go out there and play the golf of my life. The only thing I'm in control of is trying to stand on that first tee and hit a good shot, walk after that and see what happens from there.”

Lowry may not know how he will feel, but he will tee off with Holmes in the fourth from last group at 10.24pm Irish time on Sunday wearing black for the fourth day in a row as he continues to pay his respects to the victims of the Berkeley balcony tragedy which claimed the lives of six Irish J1 students.

His plan for the intervening period was to relax at the house he is renting with father Brendan, the former Offaly All-Ireland-winning footballer, and his young brother Alan in order to keep his feet on the ground and give himself the best possible chance to put in another patient performance when it is needed the most if he is to win the biggest championship of his career.

“Even today I made a bad bogey on the second with a nine iron in my hand and I just was patient from there and kept playing good shots. That's all I can do tomorrow and hopefully I'll be okay.

“It's been so enjoyable out there. I said to (caddie) Dermot (Byrne) coming up the last 'I haven't enjoyed a day on the golf course like that in quite a while,” said Lowry.

“It was great but I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. I've got a few people here, my dad and my brother and we're just going to go back to the house and chill out. I suppose we'll talk about GAA or something, Offaly having their first win in a while today was nice as well. So it's just one of those things, I'll have to bring myself back down to earth now, I've got a job to do tomorrow.”

Lowry will certainly be buoyed by his third-round play which could easily have unravelled if he had been less than patient following that second-hole bogey.

He birdied the sixth, ninth and 10th to get to three-under before giving two shots back at the 14th and 16th. Yet the most crucial moment of his round came at the par-three 17th when Lowry showed his resolve by holing a difficult eight-foot putt for par.

He parred the last also, having found the fairway off the tee for the 13th time out of 14 attempts in his round to complete an impressive effort that gives him a chance of major glory.

He will have to get the better of the leading quartet first, not least Day, who showed great fortitude to battle through his bouts of vertigo and post a 68 as both Johnson and Grace carded 70s and Spieth posted a 71, his overnight co-leader Patrick Reed falling to a 76 to finish at one over in a tie for ninth.

“I didn't feel that great coming out early, and then felt like... I felt pretty groggy on the front nine just from the drugs that I had in my system, then kind of flushed that out on the back nine,” Day said.

“But then the vertigo came back a little bit on the 13th tee box, and then felt nauseous all day. I started shaking on 16 tee box and then just tried to get it in, really. Just wanted to get it in.

“Last year I didn't play the round (at the Bridgestone Invitational) after I had vertigo and this one was worse. I think the goal was just to go through today and see how it goes,” said the Australian.

“I really gave it all I had out there, but I am extremely fatigued and need a chance to rest and consult with my medical team. Hopefully, I’ll get some rest and feel better for the final round. The U.S. Open is really important to me and I look forward to tomorrow.”