Shane Lowry makes frank admission over 'mental torture' of US Open as stars struggle

Shane Lowry described the U.S. Open as ‘mental torture’ after carding an even-par third round a Pinehurst No. 2 on Saturday.

Lowry started the day with a three-putt bogey on the first but found his form swiftly after with birdies at the par-three sixth and the par-four seventh. A bogey on the eighth halted the 2019 Open champion’s momentum.

But Lowry would not be denied. He recovered and returned to the clubhouse with a very respectable even score that the 37-year-old is certainly proud of given the difficult challenge the iconic North Carolina course poses.

“It’s torture out there, honestly it’s absolute mental torture,” Lowry said. “That’s the best level par I’ve ever shot in my life. Every single shot you have, even when you hit a good shot the putts you have, it’s brutally difficult.

“You’re standing in the middle of the fairway on par fours with an eight iron in hand and you’re like ‘Right, where will I miss this’ instead of thinking, 'Where will I hit it?' It’s not much craic out there to be honest.”

While Ryder Cup star Ludvig Aberg held a one-shot lead at five-under at the turn, Lowry - who is 10 shots back - expects the field to struggle amid the difficult conditions at the U.S. Open. The Irishman admitted he was pleased with his performance heading into the final round.

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Shane Lowry was 10 shots off the lead at the halfway cut

“I’m very happy because I think the scoring is going to come way back this afternoon and I was thinking level par’s not going to be very far away this weekend,” Lowy continued. “The leaders and the guys under par just need to get it into their heads that level par with nine holes to play on Sunday will have a chance. If you get on a bad run you just need to steady the ship and keep going, you don’t need to make birdies.”

On the conditions, he added: “It’s obviously firmer than it was last few days. It’s way windier. The wind’s in a different direction so some of the par fours are really long. You really just have to manage your way well around there and I did a great job today.”

Former U.S. Open champions Matt Fitzpatrick and Brooks Koepka endured more challenging days out than Lowry. Fitzpatrick posted successive double-bogeys en route to a nine-over finish to sit 14-over - bottom of the leaderboard - while Koepka had moments but slipped to six-over with a 71 on Saturday.