What a ‘day moving’ on Valhalla Golf Club of Louisville (Kentucky)with sun, no wind, greens that receive the ball well and leaders who literally eat the field, especially the Irish Shane Lowry37 years old and champion of British Open in 2019 in Royal Portrush (Northern Ireland)who is just one stroke away from making real history at the Grand Slams.
Lowry, who had a putt for glory, signed a card of 62 strokes, with 9 birdies without a miss, equaling the record of this ‘major’ established on Thursday in the first round by Xander Schauffele, and the lowest round in the ‘greats’ with Branden Grace (British), Schauffele (US Open and PGA) and Rickie Fowler (US Open).
The Irishman, who won the Zurich Classic pairs tournament in New Orleans three weeks ago with Rory McIlroy and is playing in his twelfth PGA – he is tied for 4th for the best finish in 2021 -, stood on the tee of the 18th hole, par 5 and the easiest this Saturday, with 9 under par.
Another birdie gave him a historic record 61. He left the fairway with his drive, hit a second shot that ended up in the lower rough to the left and immediately played a superb third shot that landed the ball about 4 meters from descending flag.
Lowry knows what’s at stake. He threw the determined putt, with a drop, and the ball landed to the left of the cylinder. How difficult is the wall of history considering that after more than 130,000 rounds played in Grand Slams since the first British Open in 1860, no one has scored a round of 61 in major tournaments Yes, four (Schauffele in duplicate ) of 62 .
Only four Europeans have won the PGA: Jim Barnes, Padraig Harrington, Martin Kayme and Rory McIlroy (2). Lowry is with the Englishman in his fight Justin Rose, who also entered the title ointment with a round of 64 strokes. Lowry leads the clubhouse with 200 (-13) and Rose follows with 201 (-12).
“A good chance on the last hole, a shame, of course I wanted to do it,” Lowry told CBS. Shane explains that he changed his putt in New Orleans. And also tasks. “I had a great start back today, Justin the same, and the return I played has been incredible. We have been encouraging each other,” he added. I’m going to enjoy today and tomorrow will be another day, I’m going to fight,” he concluded.
The other side of the coin as far as men’s heads are concerned is staged World no. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who went down as soon as he started his third round, with a streak of double bogey-bogey-bogey- in the first four holes and then struggled to recover. The Texan didn’t bring his usual caddy because he was away in Valhalla to attend his daughter’s graduation and instead carried the bag for a friend of his, a parish priest (Scheffler is very devout and religious).
By the way, Scheffler, according to his lawyer, will go to trial to prove his innocence after his arrest on Friday by the police and his one-hour stay in the cells. This saturday maybe he paid for it. His poor start to the cycle dragged on throughout the day.
The fact is that within a 4-stroke radius there are a good number of contenders to lift the Wanamaker Trophy. A great Movement Day will definitely continue this Sunday.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Jason Root, a professional writer working with Today Times Live, the premier news website. I specialize in sports writing, covering the biggest stories in the world of athletics. With an eye for detail and a passion for storytelling, I provide engaging and informative articles that capture the key elements of any event or issue. My work has been featured on numerous respected websites and publications around the world.
