SHANE LOWRY put the celebratory beers on hold last night after his ace at the 17th gave him a chance to become the second Irish winner of The Players Championship.

The affable Offaly man (34) hasn't won since he lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush nearly three years ago.
But after narrowly losing out at the Honda Classic two weeks ago, finishing a shot behind winner Sepp Straka, he wants to give his all over his final 22 holes and follow in the footsteps of 2019 winner Rory McIlroy.

The Irish star is four shots behind surprise leader Anirban Lahiri of India after his spectacular hole-in-one helped him play 14 holes of his third round in four-under to share 11th on five-under-par.

"Yeah, look, you go, you play this game, just special things happen sometimes," Lowry said of the 10th ace at the 17th in the history of The Players. "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. It's been a long day today, and I'm glad to make the call and finish well today. Played the 17th hole twice and did it in three shots, so it doesn't owe me anything.

"I'm excited for tomorrow now. If it's a long day tomorrow, I can do something hopefully in the morning and finish it off in the afternoon."

While he has seven wins worldwide, Lahiri is ranked 322nd in the world and hasn't had a top 10 finish since he was tied third behind Séamus Power in the Barbasol Championship last July.

After rounds of 67 and 73, Lahiri played 11 holes in five-under to lead by a shot on nine-under from the in-form Tom Hoge and Saudi International winner Harold Varner III.

But with the top 31 players on the leaderboard covered by just five shots, the race for the $3.6 million top prize is wide open.

Scores

Lowry knows he has a chance but believes he needs to start hitting more fairways.

He was on the cut line with four holes of his second round to play before he made a clutch six-footer for par at the 15th, then birdied the 17th and 18th with long-range putts to make it with ease after a 70.

Now he knows he likely needs to play his last 22 holes in at least eight-under to have a chance.

"I just think I need to hit more fairways," he said. "I don't think I'm hitting enough fairways. I struggled the first two rounds, definitely. Today was better; this afternoon was better. If you put the ball in the fairway out there, you're going to give yourself chances. The greens are soft.

"I'm not sure what the weather conditions are tomorrow, but like I said, hopefully, I can get out there and make a few putts and make a few birdies and get another hole-in-one or something.

"No, it's been one of those days where I look back on it, and myself and Bo were laughing about it. We've done some pretty cool things together, and there's another one to kind of chuck off the list. Yeah, it was special."

Asked if he planned to celebrate his hole in one last night, Lowry said: "No, hopefully tomorrow night. Hopefully celebrating something else. But, yeah, I'm going to have one tomorrow night."

Séamus Power's brace of 71s from the worst side of the draw saw him lead the Irish challenge into the third round, tied for 22nd on two-under, five shots behind Sam Burns and Tom Hoge.

By the time was play was suspended due to darkness, the Tooraneena man (35) was tied 32nd on three-under with five holes of his third round to complete.

He birdied the par-five second, double-bogeyed the fourth when he finished up in the water short but rebounded with a birdie at the fifth thanks to a 176-yard approach from fairway sand to four feet before picking up another shot at the par-five 11th.

McIlroy also got the worst of the draw but made the cut on the two-over limit after Scott Piercy ran up a quadruple-bogey seven at the 17th, then bogeyed the last to give all the players on two-over a reprieve.

The world number six started on the back nine, but while he birdied the 11th, he bogeyed the 14th and 15th after hitting drives left into trouble and was tied 66th on three-over with 27 holes to complete.

McIlroy ranks 69th of 71 for greens hit in regulation and 69 of 71 for strokes gained putting.