The Open: Portush frustration 'hard to take' for Lowry

Shane Lowry is finding his difficulties at The Open hard to take, after he dealt with sickness during a troublesome third round.

Lowry was hit with a two-stroke penalty on Friday for causing his ball to move during a practice swing.

The 2019 Open champion went from two under to even par, and a three-over par 74 did nothing for his slender hopes on Saturday.

Lowry had to contend with a virus, further hampering his comeback attempts, though the Irishman offered no excuses.

"I wanted to do well so badly today and this week," a despondent Lowry told reporters.

"I put so much into this week that, yeah, it's hard to take."

Asked about his sickness, Lowry said: "No, not great. I haven't eaten today yet. I tried to get a protein drink down me after eight holes, and I felt like throwing up all over the place.

"Yeah, it's been a tough day, but I'm not going to make excuses. I played poorly today and obviously had a bad finish.

"I felt like I ground it out really well to get to one-under for the day through 13. Then a bad shot on 14 and a little bit of a bad break as well.

"It's hard to take. You get home late and have to dust yourself off. Woke up at 2:30 with cramps in my stomach."

While Lowry struggled, former world number one Lee Westwood recovered from a dismal front nine by sinking birdies on six of the last nine holes.

Lee Westwood made it through Final Qualifying to book his place in The 153rd Open.Today, he carded a back-nine 29 at Royal Portrush and currently sits in the top 20. pic.twitter.com/wX8c8CN0a6
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2025

His effort of 29 across the back nine tied the course record set by Ryan Fox in 2019.

"It was a good back nine, wasn't it," quipped Westwood, who finished the day on five under after missing a birdie putt on the 18th.

"The putt at the last, I'm not sure how it's missed. I felt like I could birdie every hole. Just shows you, you've got to be patient and never give up, right? Stick at it."