Shane Lowry holds two-stroke lead after three rounds; Day, Spieth playing catch-up

The 116th U.S. Open will get back on track today when the third round is completed in the morning and the final round will commence on schedule. History, it appears, will get back on track, too.

The past two U.S. Open winners at Oakmont Country Club — Ernie Els in 1994 and Angel Cabrera in 2007 — won their first major championships at the historic club. And there’s a good chance the same will happen today.

None of the six players currently under par in the weather-interrupted event has won a major championship. And only two of the top 11 players on the board — PGA champion Jason Day and British Open champ Zach Johnson — has a major title on his mantle.

Right now, the leader in the chase is Ireland’s Shane Lowry, a three-time winner on the European Tour whose only victory in America is the 2015 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in Akron, Ohio. He is at the top of the leader board at 5 under after 50 holes and will return this morning to complete his third round.

Lowry played 32 holes Saturday, and his morning round included a moment of integrity — calling a penalty on himself when his ball moved on the 16th green.

“I was getting tired toward the end,” Lowry said. “I wasn’t hitting any bad shots or anything. I was making good decisions and I was hitting good shots. [But] if I had to play another four holes, it would have been quite difficult.”

Right behind is Andrew Landry, the resilient first-round leader who just refused to go away. And stalking them are three players who have endured disappointment and heartache in past majors — Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood. They are at 2 under and looking to end a major drought that, among them, is a combined 0 for 170.

“There’s no monkeys, that’s nonsense,” said Garcia, who is 0 for 70 in major championships. “At the end of the day, the only thing I can do is give myself chances and play well. If it happens, it happens.”

At the moment, the leader in the clubhouse is Branden Grace of South Africa, who is at 1-under 209 after a third-round 66 that tied Day for low round of the day. Grace, who had a chance a year ago at Chambers Bay until his tee shot at the 71st hole landed on the railroad tracks, birdied the final hole to become the only player in the clubhouse under par.

“I’m in good position to put my hands on one tomorrow,” Grace said.

Play was suspended at 8:49 p.m. with 25 players on the course. They will return at 7 a.m. today to complete the third round.

Day, the No. 1 player in the world, put himself in position to win another with a 66 that included an eagle at the par-5 fourth hole. Day is at 1-over 211.

“Anything under par you’re definitely moving up a lot,” said Day, who shot 69 in the morning.

Johnson was able to finish his second round as the clubhouse leader at 4-under 136 Friday, and remained the leader after 78 players had to play the entire second round Saturday morning.

“I still feel good where I’m at,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of golf still to go. I’m sure it’s going to be pretty hard. I would imagine it’s going to be quite difficult.”

Lowry was two shots off the lead after the first round of the Masters earlier this year but finished tied for 39th.

Landry, the first-round leader who is appearing in his first U.S. Open, held together against some of the biggest names in golf. He birdied his final two holes in the morning to shoot 71, then made 11 pars and one birdie — a 20-footer at No. 7 — to get to 3-under with five holes remaining.

Westwood’s round was aided by an eagle from 130 yards at the par-4 fifth —his second hole-out for eagle in three days. He did it in the first round from 124 yards at the par-4 14th.

With Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Phil Mickelson gone from the tournament after the 36-hole cut, the world’s top two players — Day and Jordan Spieth — tried to put some star power back in the tournament. In the process, they electrified the galleries.

Day, who began the round at 5-over 145, birdied four of his first five holes to get within three shots of the lead. Playing in the group ahead, Spieth ran off three consecutive birdies, beginning at No. 11, before slowing his charge with a bogey at the short 14th.

Spieth’s wedge game ultimately let him down. He missed the green from 153 yards in the fairway at No. 1 and had to scramble for par at No. 1, then hit his approach from 94 yards in the fairway into the back bunker at the short second hole, leading to a double bogey.

That really put the brakes on his bid to become the first player in 27 years to repeat as U.S. Open champion. Spieth shot 70 and is at 214.