Shane Lowry lit up the weather-affected Players Championship with a hole-in-one on the iconic 17th as Paul Casey continued his superb comeback from a nightmare start at Sawgrass.
Lowry’s tee shot on the 124-yard par three pitched around 10 feet beyond the hole and span back into the cup to spark wild celebrations from the 34-year-old Offaly native.
The eagle lifted Lowry, who has also made an ace on the 16th at Augusta National during the Masters, to four under par and although he bogeyed the difficult 18th, birdies on the first and second kept him firmly in contention for the title.
Lowry said: “You play this game, just special things happen sometimes. It’s pretty cool to do it there, one of the most iconic holes in golf.
“Yeah, what can I say? It was a special thing to happen, and I’m looking forward to turning on my phone and seeing the messages I’ve got. Not only that, it put me back in the tournament somewhat. So it was amazing.”
At five under par when play was halted due to darkness, Lowry had four holes of his third round to complete and was four shots off the lead held by India’s Anirban Lahiri, who had seven holes remaining.
Americans Tom Hoge and Harold Varner were a shot behind Lahiri, with Casey another stroke back alongside Sebastian Munoz and Sam Burns.
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
