Ireland's Shane Lowry saw a three-shot lead at the British Open slip away on the front nine of his third round

Troon (United Kingdom) (AFP) - Shane Lowry saw a three-shot advantage slip away during his third round at the British Open on Saturday as American Billy Horschel and unheralded Englishman Daniel Brown moved into a share of the lead at six under.

Lowry, who claimed his sole major victory at the 2019 British Open, began the day with a two-shot lead and stretched his advantage to three with a birdie at the par-five fourth.

However, he was the latest big name to fall foul of the 130-yard Postage Stamp eighth as he was penalised for finding a bunker off the tee with a double bogey five to drop back to six under.

Horschel was one of the big movers on a day that allowed for lower scoring on Scotland’s west coast despite the heavy rain.

Starting at two under, Horschel produced a sublime four-under 32 on the front nine thanks to birdies at four, six, seven and nine.

Brown continued to defy his lack of experience as the major rookie made the turn at one under for the day as three birdies more than atoned for two dropped shots at the first and on the infamous Postage Stamp.

Behind the leaders, some of the star names to make the weekend are assembling.

Fresh from his maiden major win at the USPGA Championship, Xander Schauffele is eyeing another as he closed to within two shots of the lead, alongside Justin Rose at the midway point of their third rounds.

All eyes were on world number one Scottie Scheffler, expecting a Saturday charge from the man who has already won six times this year.

The Masters champion, though, has been steady if unspectacular, picking up just one shot in his first 11 holes to move to three under.

South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence and American duo Sam Burns and Russell Henley made the most of the benign early morning conditions to shoot through the pack to three under.

Lawrence and Burns posted six-under 65s, while Henley made 66 to move into contention with the leaders set to face a tricky back nine in blustery conditions.

Two-time major champion Justin Thomas and former Masters winner Adam Scott also impressed to move to level par and remain on the fringes of the battle for the Claret Jug.

But the challenge from the big names on the breakaway LIV circuit failed to materialise.

Jon Rahm slipped back to two over, while Brooks Koepka was six over for the day and seven for the tournament with three holes to play.

One of the loudest cheers of the week so far was reserved for Si Woo Kim after the South Korean produced the first hole-in-one of the 152nd Open on the 17th that brought him back to five over for the tournament.