What you need to know about Shane Lowry, who's built a solid U.S. Open lead

Irishman Shane Lowry has a four-stroke lead after 54 at Oakmont, which means this thing is over ... right?

By Kyle Porter

Jun 19, 2016 at 9:41 am ET • 4 min read

OAKMONT, Pa. -- It got hot early at Oakmont on Sunday as the leaders of the 116th U.S. Open finished up their third rounds after darkness delayed play on Saturday. What promises to be a steamy Sunday afternoon at the Open started off with Shane Lowry applying a blowtorch to his final few holes. Lowry extended his overnight lead with a couple of birdies over the five holes he had left and tidied up an incredible third round of 65. He's now at 7 under for the tournament and is up four over Andrew Landry and Dustin Johnson.

"To be honest, I probably would have taken four pars," said Lowry. "But two birdies is really nice. Hit the ball lovely again this morning and, you know, it's nice."

Lowry's 54-hole score of 203 is three strokes better than the lowest 54-hole score in Oakmont history. That was previously held by Ernie Els who was at 206 in 1994. He went on to win. And now Lowry will try to hold on against a bevy of contenders including Johnson (four back), Lee Westwood (five back), Branden Grace (six back), Sergio Garcia (seven back) and Jason Day (eight back).

It will be no easy task as Oakmont bakes early and gets slippery late. But Lowry, who is ranked No. 41 in the world and won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last year, has history on his side. It's been nearly two decades since someone blew a lead of four strokes or greater at a U.S. Open in the final round. Here are the players since 2000 who have led by four or more going into the final round at a U.S. Open.

Martin Kaymer (2014): Won
Rory McIlroy (2011): Won
Tiger Woods (2002): Won
Tiger Woods (2000): Won

Payne Stewart is the last to blow a lead this big. That was at the 1998 U.S. Open at Olympic Club when he shot a final round 74 and lost by one after leading by four with 18 holes left. It will take something equally poor from Lowry this Sunday, which seems unlikely. You might now know the name, but Lowry is a big-game hunter of sorts. He finished in the top 10 at last year's U.S. Open and will likely be on the European Ryder Cup team this year. He had another top 10 at the British Open two years ago and held off Justin Rose, Jim Furyk and Bubba Watson to win that Bridgestone.

He actually rose into the top 20 in the world at one point last year but currently sits at No. 41 which, interestingly, is the same world ranking Angel Cabrera held when he won at Oakmont in 2007. Lowry, who is the son of a Gaelic football player, sort of reminds you of Cabrera, too. One of my pals here at Oakmont dubbed him the Irish El Pato (a reference to Cabrera's nickname).

Lowry's career has been pretty fascinating. He's one of just three amateurs to win an event on the European Tour while still maintaining amateur status. He won his country's Irish Open while still an am in 2009. The 29-year-old isn't chatted about much stateside, but he's become a stalwart on European soil having made nearly 8 million Euros over the last eight years as a pro, including wins at the Portugal Masters and that Bridgestone Invitational.

But now ... an Open? How do you figure out how to close the biggest tournament of your life?

"I think it's just the same as I've been doing all week," said Lowry. "Just trying to hit the ball down the fairway and hit it on the green. Try and make pars. Every par you make, kind of put it in your pocket and get on to the next tee. If you get yourself out of position, you've got to make bogey. And if you get yourself in a good position, then you've got to take your opportunity and make a birdie."

Sounds pretty straightforward.

Lowry can become an international star at one of the great stops on the U.S. Open rota. Johnson will launch missiles and Garcia and Westwood will likely throw everything in their arsenals at Lowry on Sunday afternoon. And it won't be easy for the Irishman. It never is at an Open. He will have to bail out of trouble and make some testy pars if he wants to hold the trophy. But he gets to be conservative while everyone else has to go for broke at nasty, tough Oakmont. If he plays it right, it could be over at the turn. Or maybe not. Aaron Baddeley was the 54-hole leader here in 2007, and he shot an 80 in the final round.

So it could go that way, too. Lowry will hold history in his hands late on Sunday afternoon. He won't need to do anything spectacular to win. A 70 or 71 will likely get it done because nobody is likely to go super low as Oakmont gets slick. It's all his ... if he can keep it.

"Let's be honest, I've already visualized myself winning," said Lowry before heading for some rest on Sunday morning. "Even out walking around the course this morning, when you get a few moments to yourself, you do think about that. But when it comes down to it, you've just have to get the shot that's in front of you."

He's about 70 of those shots from the greatest win of his life.