LOUISVILLE, Ky. Shane Lowry tied a major championship record by shooting a 9-under 62 in the third round of the PGA Championship on Saturday.
The 37-year-old Irishman recorded nine bogey-free birdies at a very accessible Valhalla to equal the lowest round ever at any of the four majors.
Four players have now recorded 62 points at the PGA Championship, Masters, British Open and US Open, the latest from Xander Schauffele in the opening round at Valhalla on Thursday.
Just over 48 hours later, Lowry equalized and entered contention for his second major title.
Lowry won the British Open at Royal Portrush by six shots in 2019. He had recorded two top-five finishes at majors since that homecoming triumph five years ago when he arrived in Kentucky this week.
He opened with back-to-back 2-under 69s and entered Saturday eight shots behind Schauffele, who was in the lead. Over the course of five near-perfect hours, Lowry closed the gap considerably and finished the round at 13 under.
Lowry made four consecutive birdies en route to a 29 at the turn. He calmed down – just a little – returning home. He put himself on the brink of history when he rolled in a 6-foot birdie on the par-4 17th to get to 9 under.
The 18th at Valhalla is an uphill par 5 that was playing the easiest hole of the day when Lowry was on the tee. He pulled his tee shot to right field and stopped on his second shot. He narrowed his approach to just under 12 feet.
The chance to achieve the lowest round ever among the 130,000 played in major championship history disappeared when Lowry’s birdie putt slid to the left of the hole.
Instead, Lowry had to settle for a part on a record that’s becoming common lately. Four of the five 62 shots in a major have occurred in the past 12 months.
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AP Golf:
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