FLOURTOWN, Pa. — Sepp Straka has three titles on the PGA Tour but lacks a statement win. Shane Lowry has tasted victory far less than he’d like since his major championship six years ago.
Straka and Lowry will go out in the final pairing Sunday at the Truist Championship, as the Austrian and Irishman stand three shots above the pack after the third round of the $20 million signature event on Saturday.
The duo enters the final round at 14-under-par 196 after stellar showings Saturday at the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course. Straka shot a 4-under 66, and Lowry signed for a 3-under 67.
“I think, if I allow myself to be me tomorrow, I can achieve what I want to achieve,” Lowry said. “It’s a funny old game. There’s obviously some of the best players in the world not too far behind us. So, yeah, I’ll give it my best.”
Keith Mitchell led after each of the first two rounds but poor putting knocked him off his perch. He shot a 1-over 71 and fell to 11 under, tied for third with Justin Thomas (66).
Straka rolled in a 24 1/2-foot birdie putt at No. 17 to grab the outright lead before Lowry, playing in the final group, tied him with a 4-foot birdie at the same hole.
That illustrates how the two golfers have excelled this week: Straka leads the field in strokes gained putting, while Lowry tops the pack in strokes gained on approach with his precise irons and wedges.
Straka has also limited mistakes: He had just one bogey Saturday, at No. 12, making him the only player in the top 10 without multiple bogeys on the card.
The 2023 Ryder Cup player said he made a key putting change last fall.
“Tried to get a little bit of a stronger grip,” Straka said. “My grip was pretty weak last year, and I had a pretty bad year putting. Just changed my setup a little bit because of it. Hands got a little higher. After that, the rest was really pretty much the same.”
Straka seeks his second title of the PGA Tour season and his first win at a signature event. Lowry, meanwhile, has only won the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans — a team event with Rory McIlroy — and one DP World Tour event since his 2019 victory at the Open Championship.
“You need to keep putting yourself there, and eventually it will happen,” Lowry said. “You look at Rory at the Masters a few weeks ago. Keep knocking on the door, and eventually you’ll go through it. I feel like I’ve done a good job of it this season, last season. It does get frustrating sometimes, but yeah, I’m in the final group tomorrow.
“I’ve played pretty good golf this year. I’m pretty happy with the way I’m playing this week, and I’m going to go out and give my best.”
Lowry birdied his first two holes to move in front of Mitchell, who had three-putt bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 before rebounding with birdies at Nos. 5 and 6.
Straka crept up the standings and took his first lead when he birdied No. 9. Lowry responded with birdies at Nos. 9 and 10, the latter a 17-footer.
Mitchell gave himself a great look at the par-3 14th by landing his tee shot 5 feet from the pin. He proceeded to miss both his birdie and his par putts and carded his fifth bogey of the round.
“The game plan is always to try to find the green below the hole, if you can do that,” Mitchell said. “If not, you’ve just got to kind of take what you can get.”
Thomas started the day five shots off the pace and climbed the leaderboard with six birdies and two bogeys. He made a 27-foot birdie at the par-4 18th that swept from right to left to plant himself firmly in the mix.
“I would say it’s a lot of probably faith and belief in my game and where everything’s at,” said Thomas, who won his most recent start at the RBC Heritage, also against a signature event field. “I think it doesn’t — it doesn’t just happen coincidentally. I do think it’s something that you can do the best that you can in terms of thinking your way to being more positive and good things will happen.”
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama went out early and shot the round of the day, a 7-under 63, to get to 10 under and fifth place.
McIlroy was off to a hot start when he birdied Nos. 4-6, the latter on an improbable 54-foot putt. The Northern Irishman gave back all of those strokes with a double bogey and bogey on the next two holes.
McIlroy, the defending champion who is playing in his first non-team event since winning the Masters, carded a 69 and is part of a brigade tied for sixth at 8 under par. Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Canadian Nick Taylor and South Korea’s Sungjae Im all shot 67.
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
