Brutal conditions at Royal Troon sparks bold claims from Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry
The brutal conditions at Royal Troon in round three of The Open made it a tough day for some of the world's top golfers.
Scottie Scheffler admitted it was the hardest back nine he has ever played, while Shane Lowry lamented the set-up and conditions.
Irishman Lowry headed into the third round as the leader, holding a two-shot lead over Justin Rose and qualifier Dan Brown after playing the first half of the championship in seven-under-par.
But Lowry endured a tough Saturday as the wind and rain caused problems for the day's late starters.
Lowry particularly struggled to adapt, carding a six-over 77, leaving him at one-over for the week, and three behind leader Billy Horschel.
The back nine was where Lowry particularly suffered as he was forced to hit driver-driver at the 15th, going on to make bogey at the par-four which measured over 500 yards.
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He didn't fare much better on the 17th as Lowry was forced to hit driver at par three.
Lowry appeared to be unimpressed with the choice of tee boxes amid the conditions, saying: "Look, I don't really know what to say. It was a grind. It wasn't much fun. Driver, driver into 15. 16 playing ridiculously long. Driver into 17.
"Then you're standing on the 18th tee wondering if you can actually hit the fairway, if you can reach the fairway, and it's 230-yards to the fairway.
"Bear in mind my driver pitched about 220-yards on the 17th hole. So, yeah, it's not much fun out there. It's obviously very difficult. But you'd have to question why there wasn't a couple of tees put forward today, to be honest. I think 15 and 17 - like 15 is 500-yards playing into that wind."
Keen to highlight that the signature hole on the golf course is in fact the shortest hole on The Open rota, in the iconic eighth, The Postage Stamp, a frustrated Lowry added: "They keep trying to make holes longer, yet the best hole on this course is about 100 yards."
Lowry's hopes of winning a second Claret Jug in five years aren't over, however, the 37-year-old admitted that he will need time to digest his third round disappointment.
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He said: "I am [still in with a chance of winning], but it's hard now.
"Like I've just finished, and I really wanted to hole that one on the last. I knew Billy made bogey, and I knew Dan [Brown] was obviously going to make double.
"I mean, I would have been two back. Three back, you're still right in the tournament.
"This is going to take me a couple hours to get over today, and yeah. I'm obviously pretty good now, but I have a job to do tomorrow and a similar chance to win this tournament."
Scheffler is the best player in the world right now, but even he had a few things to say.
"The back nine was probably the hardest nine holes that I'll ever play," said Scottie Scheffler, who is eighth on two-under-par.
"I shouldn't say ever, but it's definitely the hardest that I've played to this point."
Two of the biggest hitters around even had a hard time with the weather.
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Dustin Johnson, who was pair with Brooks Koepka, said: "The hardest nine holes you could ever play.
"Into the wind and rain, it was so long I could barely reach the par fours, the same with Brooks."