Lowry leads U.S. Open after Day 3; third round to finish Sunday

OAKMONT, Pa. - A varied collection of challengers each would like to be the one coming out to the 18th green at Oakmont Country Club on Sunday evening to collect the trophy for the U.S. Open championship, but there's plenty of work to be done before that happens.

With U.S. Golf Association officials continuing their efforts to try to get back on schedule after a stormy Thursday, the Open ended another day with a round left incomplete, requiring 25 players to return to the course at 7 a.m. Sunday to finish up the third round.

The stoppage didn't seem to bother Shane Lowry, a bearded and burly 29-year-old Irishman who had his share of looks at birdie and made five of them in 14 holes to take a 2-stroke lead at 5 under par.

"It's nice," said Lowry, a European PGA Tour veteran who is playing on the PGA Tour for the first time this year. "I'm quite aware of what's going on around me. My game is good, and I feel comfortable out there."

PGA Tour rookie Andrew Landry, the first-round leader who shows no signs of fading in his first career major, stubbornly kept pace with his more accomplished colleagues and had the second-best score at 3-under with five holes remaining in the third round.

Dustin Johnson, who made the game look so easy through 36 holes Friday and held the lead at the halfway point at 4-under 136, lost some of the magic on Saturday and was tied for third with Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood at 2-under. He had five holes left, Garcia four, and Westwood three.

The second round of the Open was completed Saturday, and the 67 contestants who survived the cut went out mostly in groups of three from the first and 10th tees. But the pace of play was snaillike, with the final group of Johnson, Landry, and Scott Piercy taking 3 hours, 54 minutes to go 13 holes.

Some players did finish their third round and should be able to sleep in on Sunday. Brendan Grace, who contended in last year's Open at Chambers Bay before he blasted a tee ball out of bounds on the 16th hole of the final round, fired a 66 for a 209 and the clubhouse lead.

Then there was Jason Day, the No. 1 player in the world, who rallied after a poor opening round with a second-round 69 on Saturday morning, then climbed from a tie for 45th into a tie for eighth with a 66 in the third round and 211 total.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth started strong with three straight early birdies but then leveled off, shooting a 70 for 214.

Lowry, who won last year's WGC Bridgestone Invitational, fired a 70 in his second round earlier Saturday to get to within 2 shots of Johnson. He first took the lead with an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 seventh hole. After a bogey on the next hole, a par 3, where he put his tee shot in a bunker, he jarred short birdie putts of four feet at No. 9 and two feet at No. 12, with the latter putt giving him a 2-shot lead.

The 6-foot, 225-pound Lowry admitted he was not reluctant to get off the course when play was called after his 32-hole day.

"I'm quite happy I didn't have to play four more holes," he said. "I was getting tired toward the end. I was still making good decisions, but playing four more holes would have been tough.

"This is right where I want to be, and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow."

Landry, 28, looked as if he'd be a one-round wonder when he went 4-over par on the front nine of his second round, but he bounced back with a 3-under back nine to hold second place. His third round featured 11 pars, one birdie, and one bogey.

Johnson, who completed his second round Friday evening, appeared ready to pick up where he had left off with a four-foot birdie putt at No. 1. But he had two bogeys and a double bogey after that to slide out of first.

jjuliano@phillynews.com

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