ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Shane Lowry added a bit of history to Old Course lore Saturday during the third round of The Open with back-to-back hole-outs for eagle ... on par-4s.
The 2019 Open champion was treading along at 5 under, 1 under for his round, when his drive tumbled into the rough, 43 yards short and left of the ninth green, the center 352 yards from the tee box.
“I hit a poor tee shot on 9 and got a pretty good break and just hit a lovely pitch,” Lowry said. “It was a nice lie in the rough and I could be fairly aggressive. I knew it was going to spin and hit a lovely shot.”
On the par-4 10th hole it was a similar situation after a better drive, with Lowry holing this pitch from 46 yards.
“I hit a great drive and had a straightforward enough pitch, but it was a tricky pin. I was just trying to get as close as I could, and it just came out perfect and went in,” said Lowry, who is the first player in the last 25 years to make consecutive eagles on par-4s at The Open.
Things did not, however, keep going Lowry’s way. He bogeyed Nos. 12, 15 and 17 for a 3-under 69 that left him at 7 under and well off the lead.
“It was a very emotional day. I felt like through the middle of the front nine I was just going along OK, not doing anything great,” he said. “Obviously, 9 and 10 happened and I felt like I was in the tournament. And did well to play my way out of the tournament from there.”