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Shane Lowry's disastrous Open Championship third round means anything's possible over final 18 holes
Shane Lowry reacts on the 14th green during the first round of the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

Shane Lowry's disastrous Open Championship third round means anything's possible over final 18 holes

The 2024 Open Championship is up for grabs entering the final round.

Shane Lowry, the leader after 36 holes at seven-under-par, shot a 77 (+6) on Saturday to drop to ninth. He had a disastrous round after recording a birdie on the par-5 fourth hole, which lowered his score to eight-under. 

Lowry double-bogeyed the par-3 No. 8 and followed that with five back-nine bogeys.

He's one stroke behind world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, who sits alone in eighth place at two-under-par.

Billy Horschel (-4) leads, but he isn't a sure thing to leave Royal Troon with his first major championship.

He has two top-10 finishes in his previous 42 career major tournaments. His best finish at The Open is a tie for 21st in 2022.

Six players are one stroke behind him, including Daniel Brown, a fan-favorite who entered The Open ranked No. 272 globally and qualified for the year's final major after hitting a 20-foot putt on the final hole at the West Lancashire Final Qualifying.

2024 PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele is a part of that extended group at three-under, including Sam Burns, Russell Henley, Thriston Lawrence and Justin Rose.

Burns, Henley and Lawerence entered the third round above par, while Rose shot a 73 on Saturday.

The weather was a significant factor on Saturday, but conditions are expected to improve for the final round. Sunny skies are forecasted, although wind gusts could reach 22 mph.

With the way the tournament has gone, the leaderboard could shift wildly with one strong wind.

From Brown becoming a folk hero with his laissez-faire demeanor to Si Woo Kim's historic hole-in-one to pre-tournament favorites Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Aberg, Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood missing the cut, The 2024 Open Championship has already been a wild ride.

It's only fitting that anything is possible heading into Sunday.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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