'It's pretty cool' - sparkling Shane Lowry matches Major record ...
Shane Lowry narrowly failed to card the first 61 in men's major championship history in the third round of the 106th US PGA Championship at Valhalla.
The 2019 Open champion needed to birdie the 18th to write his name in the history books, but missed from 12 feet and had to settle for a bogey-free 62.
That matched the mark initially set by Branden Grace in the 2017 Open, which was equalled by Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele in the opening round of last year's US Open and achieved again by Schauffele on Thursday.
Lowry made four birdies in a row from the second and picked up further shots on the seventh and ninth to race to the turn in 29 and become the first player to break 30 on either nine in any of Valhalla's four US PGA Championships.
The 37-year-old, who is ranked a lowly 168th for putting on the PGA Tour this season, then holed from more than 30 feet for birdie on the 13th and 14th and just six feet on the 17th to set up his shot at history.
The par-five 18th had played the easiest hole in the first two rounds and although Lowry gave himself a great chance with a superb third shot, his birdie attempt was low and left of the hole.
Nevertheless, Lowry set the clubhouse target on 13 under par, with Schauffele leading on 14 under with seven holes to play.
"I just went out there with the hope of trying to get myself towards double digits," Lowry told Sky Sports.
"I thought if I could get myself to 10 under, I'd give myself a chance. I was rolling putts in, felt great and just really enjoyed it. It's pretty cool to do something like this, but there's lots to do tomorrow."
"It was just an enjoyable day, one of those days you'll remember."
