Billy Horschel takes a one-shot lead into the final round of The 152nd Open, as major debutant Dan Brown suffered a costly finish and Shane Lowry squandered a commanding advantage.
Horschel came into the weekend three strokes back but charged up the leaderboard with four birdies in a six-hole stretch, in treacherous conditions, with a two-under 69 seeing the American set the clubhouse target at four under.
World No 272 Brown held a one-shot lead until three dropped shots in the final two holes dropped him in to a six-way tie for second, with PGA champion Xander Schauffele among that logjam as he chases a second major victory of the season.
Scottie Scheffler is just two shots adrift as he searches for a seventh win in 11 starts, while Lowry – who led by three at one stage of an eventful round – is three back and in ninth spot after slumping to a six-over 77.
Horschel the man to catch after epic Saturday
Lowry’s lead increased to three with a two-putt par at the first, having seen Rose in the group ahead open with a bogey, only for Brown to claim solo second when he bounced back from starting with a dropped shot to drain a 25-footer at the third.
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Shane Lowry had extended his Open Championship lead with an impressive birdie putt on the par-five fourth hole at Royal Troon
Brown scrambled a par at the par-five fourth after having to pitch out of a fairway bunker, while Lowry poured in from 15 feet to move to eight under before leaving short his birdie try – from a similar distance – at the sixth.
A close-range birdie for Brown on that par-five was followed by another unorthodox fashion at the par-four next, where he almost hit the group on the next green off the tee before pitching it close with his approach, as Lowry missed a six-foot birdie chance and saw his lead cut too one.
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Daniel Brown almost hit Scottie Scheffler and Dean Burmester while they were putting on the Postage Stamp green after spraying his tee shot before making an unconventional birdie to tie the lead at the Open Championship
Both players found sand off the tee at the Postage Stamp, where Brown made a bogey and Lowry hit over the green on his way to a double-bogey that left both on six under, as Horschel made it a three-way tie by charging through the field with four birdies in six holes.
Brown started his back nine with a bogey but holed from 10 feet to save par at the next, where Horschel dropped a shot and Lowry began his bogey run to leave the trio locked on five under, only for the Englishman to edge into the lead with a brilliant birdie at the 12th.
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Watch the story of Billy Horschel’s two-under-par round at Royal Troon, as he held on in brutal conditions to take the outright lead at The Open
Lowry failed to get up and down from off the same green with a putter and fell two behind, while Brown had to lay up after a wayward drive at the 13th and posted a bogey to drop back alongside Horschel on five under.
Brown produced sensational saves from off the green over his next two holes to stay in touch with Horschel, who was making battling pars of his own in tough conditions, as Lowry’s hopes suffered further setbacks with bogeys at the 14th and 15th.
Horschel went inches away from a bunker hole-out at the par-five 16th, where Brown flicked a wedge to inside five feet and made birdie for the outright lead, then failed to save par at the last to fall back to four under.
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Daniel Brown birdied the 16th hole at Royal Troon to take the outright lead at The Open in round three
Brown scrambled a bogey after finding sand off the tee at the par-three 17th, where Lowry holed a 20-footer to save par – then carded a dramatic double-bogey at the 18th after finding a horror stance off the tee and then sending his third shot into the greenside bunker.
The major rookie sits on three under alongside Schauffele, Justin Rose and Russell Henley, with Sam Burns and Thriston Lawrence completing the group a shot back after both matching the lowest round of the week with third-round 65s .
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Scheffler struggled with his putter during a level-par 71, only moving within two of the lead after almost making a hole-in-one at the par-three 17th, with England’s Matt Jordan inside the top-10 and on level par alongside Adam Scott and Justin Thomas.
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