Shane shoots 63, builds 4-shot

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The cheers grew louder and Shane Lowry kept getting better Saturday in the British Open.

He made two straight birdies around the turn at Royal Portrush to break out of a four-way tie for the lead. The Irishman made three straight birdies toward the end of the third round, each shot better than the previous one. He walked off the Dunluce Links with an 8-under 63, the 54-hole record at the British Open and a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood.

The first British Open in Northern Ireland since 1951 no longer has favorite son Rory McIlroy.

Lowry — teammates with McIlroy for Irish golf when they won the European Amateur Championship in 2007 — filled the void just fine.

He didn’t mind the lack of attention showered on the trio of Ulstermen — McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke — at the start of the week as Northern Ireland celebrated the return of golf ’s oldest championship.

“They guys are from here. I grew up four hours away,” Lowry said. “I felt like I could come here and come under the radar. I’m not quite under the radar anymore. I didn’t feel like a forgotten Irishman. But hopefully, I’m the one they’re talking about tomorrow evening.” He was at 13-under 197, breaking by one the 54-hole record held by Tom Lehman at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 1996.

Low scoring was helped by a day that ended in relative calm, perhaps ahead of the storm. The forecast for Sunday is so nasty that the R&A moved up the tee times by one hour in a bid to avoid the worst of heavy rain and gusts expected to top 35 mph.

There’s also the chance of an internal storm brewing in Lowry.

This is the second time he has had a four-shot lead going into the final round of the major. The other time was in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Lowry closed with a 76 as Dustin Johnson rallied for his only major. The pressure figures to be even greater this time around as he goes for a silver claret jug on the Emerald Isle.

Fleetwood did his part with a bogey-free 66, and he lost ground. He at least got into the final group as he goes for his first major.

“You have to look at it realistically,” he said. “I had a great day today. I had one of the best rounds of the day and I was bogey-free. Shane just played great and I’m four back. But that’s it. I’m just happy with how I played.”

J.B. Holmes, who started the third round tied with Lowry atop the leaderboard,