TROON, Scotland — One is looking for his second claret jug. The other just played his second ever round in a major championship. When Shane Lowry and Daniel Brown greet each other on the first tee Saturday afternoon at Royal Troon, playing in the final twosome of the third round at the British Open, they’ll be approaching things from vastly different vantage points.
Lowry, who sits at seven under and two shots clear of his nearest foe, has the experience of being atop the yellow leaderboard five years ago at Portrush and knows what it feels like to wait out the hours until 3:45 p.m. local time comes to pass. Six DP World Tour wins, three PGA Tour titles and two Ryder Cup appearances will be the balm for any nerves the 37-year-old Irishman, No. 33 in the World Ranking, might experience.
In contrast, Brown, ranked 272nd in the world and in just his second season on the DP World Tour, is doing this all for the first time. Yet the 29-year-old Englishman doesn’t know what he doesn’t know, which might just be a good thing as he faces arguably the biggest round of his life.
Both will not only have to brave a golf course that has proved challenging over the first two days of the championship—with six-over 148 proving to be the cut line this week, the high number at an Open since 150 at Muirfield in 2013 allowed you to play on the weekend. If the forecast is to be believed, weather will be a potential issue.
The tournament forecast says that the morning is likely to be overcast but dry, with winds around 5-8 mph during to 12-15. As the day rolls on, though, the chance for rain increases, turning heavier and more persistent later in the afternoon.
Should Lowry or Brown falter, there are a host of veterans lurking in the not to distance background. In the penultimate group, Justin Rose, also only two back of Lowry, is looking for some magic in his 21st Open start. He’ll be paired with Billy Horschel, who is give back of Lowry at two under. Behind them is reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who’ll go out with LIV Golf League member Dean Burmester.
Below is the list of the 80 players who made the cut and when they’re playing on Saturday.
3.55 a.m. — Darren Fichardt, Tommy Morrison (a)
4.05 a.m. — Guido Migliozzi, Max Homa
4.15 a.m. — Shubhankar Sharma, Sungjae Im
4.25 a.m. — Abraham Ancer, Luis Masaveu (a)
4.35 a.m. — Matthew Fitzpatrick, Darren Clarke
4.45 a.m. — Rickie Fowler, Jorge Campillo
4.55 a.m. — Harris English, Robert MacIntyre
5.05 a.m. — Aaron Rai, Matt Wallace
5.20 a.m. — Adam Scott, Daniel Hillier
5.30 a.m. — Younghan Song, Andy Ogletree
5.40 a.m. — Si Woo Kim, Hideki Matsuyama
5.50 a.m. — Davis Thompson, Phil Mickelson
6 a.m. — Alex Cejka, Jacob Skov Olesen (a)
6.10 a.m. — Ewen Ferguson, John Catlin
6.20 a.m. — Sean Crocker, Brian Harman
6.30 a.m. — Chris Kirk, Austin Eckroat
6.45 a.m. — Matteo Manassero, Justin Thomas
6.55 a.m. — Calum Scott (a), Joe Dean
7.05 a.m. — Cameron Young, Kurt Kitayama
7.15 a.m. — Byeong Hun An, Brendon Todd
7.25 a.m. — Rasmus Højgaard, Ryan Fox
7.35 a.m. — Richard Mansell, Thriston Lawrence
7.45 a.m. — Thorbjorn Olesen, Laurie Canter
7.55 a.m. — Tom McKibbin, Emiliano Grillo
8.10 a.m. — Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns
8.20 a.m. — Padraig Harrington, Eric Cole
8.30 a.m. — Adrian Meronk, MK Kim
8.40 a.m. — Matthieu Pavon, Russell Henley
8.50 a.m. — Nicolai Højgaard, Alex Noren
9 a.m. — Jeunghun Wang, Tom Hoge
9.10 a.m. — Sepp Straka, Gary Woodland
9.20 a.m. — Marcel Siem, Jon Rahm
9.35 a.m. — Mackenzie Hughes, Collin Morikawa
9.45 a.m. — Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson
9.55 a.m. — Joaquin Niemann, Matthew Jordan
10.05 a.m. — Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele
10.15 a.m. — Jason Day, Corey Conners
10.25 a.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Dean Burmester
10.35 a.m. — Billy Horschel, Justin Rose
10.45 a.m. — Daniel Brown, Shane Lowry
Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
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