They roared him down the 18th with a howl befitting a football match so wild and feral this corner of North Antrim hadn’t heard anything like it for decades, if ever at all. And, as Shane Lowry left the green to an amphitheatre chanting his name, even he couldn’t help but crack a smile of disbelief as the indoctrinated home-favourite, born 160 miles south of here, defied nerves and a rampant chasing pack to produce one of the great performances at Portrush, breaking the course record with an eight-under-par 63 . After the tide of emotion that followed Rory McIlory’s exit on Friday evening, the pressure was immense by the time the bearded son of Offaly took to the first tee in the last of the afternoon sunshine. But as his challengers bunched a breath behind him, Lowry burst into an electric finish, birdieing three of the last four holes, to leave the 18th green in a rapture that continued long after he’d departed. Sunday’s tee-times may have been brought forward due to the forecast of torrential rain and volatile crosswinds, but even in grey skies, the favourite sees a mighty measure of daylight. Prior to this week, Lowry had missed the cut at The Open in four straight years, scoring a combined +23 in total. Tomorrow, he starts with a four-shot lead.From extras.“Honestly, that’s the most incredible day I’ve ever had on the golf course,” Lowry said as the rain started to pour outside and the fans’ serenade continued unabated. ”I honestly can’t explain what it was like. I said to Bo [his caddie] walking off the 17th tee, we might never have a day like this on the golf course again, so let’s enjoy this next half hour. You know what I mean? And that’s what I did. The crowd was incredible. I just can’t believe what it was like.”Playing in the group ahead, Tommy Fleetwood could only hear the cheers and wonder with forlorn amazement at what else he might have done. The Englishman finished with a bogey-free 66, played with a grace that made the course look so simple and didn’t miss a green in regulation between caressing a 20-foot putt for birdie on the first and reduced the 532-yard par-five 12th to the simplest of tap-ins. He will start in the final group alongside Lowry and, perhaps for the first time, one of the nicest men in golf will be amicably rooted against. “Tomorrow is not going to be any quieter,” Fleetwood laughed. “It’s going to be more challenging to control yourself in that atmosphere. You have to look at it realistically. I had one of the best rounds of the day and I was bogey-free. Shane just played great and I’m four back.”