Truist Championship Round 3: Sepp Straka and Shane Lowry Tame the Wind to Share the Lead

The wind finally showed up at Philadelphia Cricket Club, and the two players who refused to blink are now sharing the Truist Championship lead.

Sepp Straka shot a 4-under 66 and Shane Lowry carded a 67 on a blustery Saturday, and the former Ryder Cup teammates head into Sunday tied at 14-under 196. Justin Thomas and 36-hole leader Keith Mitchell are three back at 11 under. Hideki Matsuyama fired the round of the day, a 63, to sit alone in fifth at 10 under, and Rory McIlroy is six back at 8 under after a 69.

Golf in a Wind Tunnel

Three days, three golf courses. Thursday was calm and soft, Friday was a cold soak, and Saturday brought sustained winds around 12 mph with gusts to 27 and noticeably quicker greens, per the AP. Shots that held their line on Thursday were suddenly drifting, and putts became an exercise in guesswork.

Straka described the mindset the conditions demanded, per the AP. "All you can do is try to focus on what you can control, and that is your target," Straka said. "You're going to feel terrible while trying to do it, but that's just part of it."

Straka's Clean Finish

Straka began the day two back of Mitchell and quietly did what Straka has done all week, which is avoid the big mistake. One bogey, five birdies, and two of those birdies came in the final four holes, when the pressure and the breeze were both at their peak. The finishing touch was a clutch 16 and a half foot par putt at the 18th that kept Straka level with Lowry rather than one behind.

It is the kind of finish that matters for someone with Straka's résumé this season. Straka already won The American Express in January, and a win on Sunday would make Straka the only player besides McIlroy with two TOUR wins this season, according to the PGA TOUR. The stakes go beyond the trophy, too: a victory would move Straka into the top 10 of the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time and up to second in the FedExCup.

Lowry Keeps Knocking

Lowry spent a chunk of the back nine in front. A 17-foot birdie at the 459-yard 10th gave the Irishman the outright lead, and Lowry answered Straka's late push by matching a birdie at the 489-yard 17th to stay tied. On a day when holing anything was a fight, Lowry said the wind made putting especially difficult.

Lowry has not won an individual PGA TOUR event since the 2019 Open Championship, per Field Level Media, and the near misses clearly sit with him. "Keep knocking on the door, and eventually you'll go through it," Lowry said, per the AP.

Sunday's pairing has a nice twist. Straka and Lowry were teammates on the 2023 European Ryder Cup team. Now they are playing for one trophy.

Mitchell Finally Blinks

For two days, Mitchell held off everyone. Saturday was the day it got away. Bogeys at the 3rd, 4th, 8th, 10th and 14th ended Mitchell's run at the top, and a 1-over 71 dropped Mitchell into a tie for third. To Mitchell's credit, the round did not unravel completely. Four closing pars kept Mitchell within three, and the PGA TOUR notes a win would end a drought dating to 2019 for a player who started the week 71st in the FedExCup.

Thomas, meanwhile, made a move despite bogeys on both par 5s. Thomas birdied three of the final four holes on the front nine and added back-to-back birdies on the back to climb to 11 under. Thomas broke a long winless stretch at the RBC Heritage last month, and a Sunday charge here would make it two wins in a row.

Matsuyama Steals the Day

The best score on the hardest scoring day belonged to Matsuyama. A 63 in that wind was a statement, and it vaulted Matsuyama to 10 under, four back of the leaders.

McIlroy's day was a grind of a different kind. The defending champion hit just 3 of 14 fairways and made only one birdie on the back nine, signing for a 69 that left McIlroy in a big group at 8 under alongside Nick Taylor, Sam Burns, Sungjae Im and Tony Finau, all of whom shot 67.

The field also lost two players. Justin Rose withdrew after two rounds with an illness, and Michael Kim withdrew with a back injury after 12 holes on Saturday.

The 95-Yard Wrinkle

Sunday comes with a quirk. The par-3 14th will play just 95 yards in the final round, the shortest par 3 used on TOUR outside the majors in the ShotLink era, according to the PGA TOUR. It is a tribute to the club's original St. Martins Course, which dates to 1895. On a day when the lead could change hands on a single swing, a flip wedge might be one of the most important shots of the tournament.

Here is the setup: two co-leaders with matching scores and a shared history, a three-shot cushion over Thomas and Mitchell, and a forecast calling for the wind to ease. That last part could open the door for a charge from behind. Or it could turn the final round into a straight-up putting contest between the two players who have handled every version of this course best.

Catch up on Round 1 and Round 2, plus our story on Straka's win at The American Express. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 3 recap (opens in a new tab) has more details.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 3 recap, Sunday stakes preview and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.