Shane Lowry charged into PGA Championship contention after narrowly missing out on the first 61 in men’s major history during an incredible third round at Valhalla.
Lowry was eight strokes off the halfway lead but produced a stunning nine-under 62 in benign conditions at Valhalla Golf Club, carding nine birdies in a bogey-free round to jump to 13 under, with only a missed chance on the final hole preventing the first ’61 round’ in a men’s major.
The 2019 Open champion’s round equals the lowest in relation to par in PGA Championship history, matching the total of Xander Schauffele on Thursday, with the performance only the fifth round of 62 in men’s major history and leaving him just two strokes back going into the final day.
“Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62,” Lowry told reporters. “I knew what was at stake. Just didn’t hit the ball hard enough. Had it on a good read and just broke away from the hole.”
Branden Grace was the first player to shoot 62 in a men’s major in the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale, with Schauffele matching the feat on Thursday that he and Rickie Fowler managed during the first round of last year’s US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
How Lowry entered major record books
Playing alongside former world No 1s Justin Rose and Jason Day, Lowry – starting the day tied-29th on the leaderboard – rolled in a 15-foot birdie at the second and added another from a similar distance at the next.
Lowry’s birdie burst continued when he holed from 20 feet at the fourth and picked up a shot at the fifth, with the Irishman taking advantage of the par-five seventh to register a fifth birdie in six holes.
Lowry was playing alongside Justin Rose, who is within three strokes of the lead
A 17-foot birdie at the ninth closed a remarkable front-nine 29 for Lowry, who failed to take advantage of par-five 10th but jumped within one of the lead when the drained a 35-footer at the par-three 13th.
Lowry made another long-range birdie at the 14th and fired his approach to inside six feet at the 17th, which he converted to leave himself nine under for the day with one hole to play.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Shane Lowry tied the lead at the PGA Championship midway through the third round at Valhalla with a monster putt on the 14th green
A wayward drive at the par-five 18th finished in the right and left Lowry having to lay up, where he pitched to inside 12 feet but then agonisingly missed the birdie chance to claim the outright record.
“When you go out in 29, you think, ‘wow, I have a good day going here’,” Lowry explained. “You have 10 that’s a pretty gettable par-five and I think when I holed the putt on 14, I was like, ‘here we go, yeah, this is a good chance’.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Shane Lowry made putts distancing over 160 feet on his way to equalling a record low round in a men’s major during the third round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla
“Obviously 15 is a tricky hole and 16 is a tough hole, but it felt like I played them very well. Obviously to birdie 17, that’s when I knew I just really wanted to hit a good tee shot on the last. I pushed it a little bit and laid it up, and I hit a great wedge shot, but obviously just missed the putt. It [61] was in my mind from about 14 onwards.
“Look, I went out there with a job to do today, and my job was to try to get myself back in the tournament, and I definitely did that. I thought if I could get to double digits, that was my plan. If I could shoot 65, I felt like I’d be there — but obviously a few better is nice.”
Live PGA Championship Golf
Sunday 19th May 2:00pm
Lowry – who carded a third-round 63 during his Open victory in 2019 – joins Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood, Greg Norman and Vijay Singh as the only players to card multiple 63s or lower in men’s majors.
Rose: I thought I’d make a 61!
Lowry’s playing partner Rose also carded five birdies in his first seven holes, with a seven-under 64 taking him to 12 under and keeping him in contention to register his second major title.
“Pretty average compared to Shane [Lowry], my playing partner,” Rose said after his round. “Today was a lot of fun. Felt like we got off to the dream start. To get a couple under early I felt was a real momentum-starter.
“Shane and I had the exact same scorecard the first seven holes. We were both five-under through seven and rolling. There was definitely that urgency to feel like you wanted to stay on track and keep up the momentum today to try to give yourself a shot going into tomorrow. It was the classic moving day, and job well done.”
On his own chance of major history, Rose added: “I had a weird feeling I was going to, after seven holes, shoot 61 today. Kind of felt like it was on and then I’m still super frustrated by going five-five at nine and 10.
“Kind of felt like I lost my momentum there a little bit.”
Who will win the PGA Championship? Watch the final round live on Sunday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, majors and more with NOW.
Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland