LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Shane Lowry knew what was at stake. He was approaching a birdie putt on the 18th green at Valhalla Golf Club on Saturday. Make it, and the 37-year-old Irishmen would be the record-holder for the lowest score for a round in a major tournament. Miss it, and well it was still a heck of a day.

Alas, he missed, a rare shot gone wrong on a day where so much went right at the PGA Championship.

“I enjoyed every minute of it, obviously,” Lowry said afterward. “Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62.”

Disappointment has its levels. Lowry became the fifth player in history to shoot a round of 62 at a major. (The fourth happened Thursday with Xander Schauffele’s opening-round 62.) In doing so, he climbed to 13-under par for the tournament, in serious contention heading into Sunday’s final round.

Collin Morikawa and Schauffele tied for the lead at 15 under after another day of low scores, this time on a beautiful Saturday. Sahith Theegala is one stroke back at 14 under. Lowry, Viktor Hovland and Bryson DeChambeau are two off the lead at 13 under before Sunday’s final 18 holes.

So what was Lowry thinking approaching that potential record-setting putt?

“I knew I just really wanted to hole it. Probably too much,” he said. “I kind of stood back and allowed myself to enjoy the moment. It was a pretty cool moment to have. It would have been a pretty cool moment to kind of seal the deal and do it.”

But … “I just didn’t hit the ball hard enough.”

Lowry won the 2019 British Open but hasn’t seriously contended for another major win since. He did finish tied for 12th in last year’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C. But he was 43rd in this year’s Masters and finished tied for 47th in last week’s Wells Fargo.

“I feel like I’ve sort of changed up how I’ve been practicing the last two weeks, sort of getting away from the technical side of it and just trying to hole putts and just doing a lot of drills,” he said. “But yeah, it’s nice to finally see a few going in the hole.”

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