Shane Lowry dug in at Oakmont, but Dustin Johnson just overwhelmed him

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Shane Lowry got to the practice range at Oakmont Country Club at 2:44 p.m. on Sunday, leaving 46 precious minutes of warmup time before he’d tee off as a four-stroke leader in the final round of the U.S. Open.

He walked down a set of steps that led from a staging area to the range, and a cameraman, who desperately wanted a piece of Lowry — didn’t all of us? — asked him, “You got another 65 in that bag?” Lowry shot a tournament-low 65 in Saturday’s third round, but he didn’t even appear to hear the question.

Lowry set up shop on the very last spot on the far right edge of the range, 10 feet away from a four-foot fence that quickly massed with spectators. Almost the entire range was empty, but Lowry picked the closest spot to the gallery.

Some players bring entourages of four or five with them to the range, but Lowry started hitting his irons with just his caddie, Dermot Byrne, watching from behind him. Swing coach Neil Manchip joined him a few minutes later, and then his manager, Kieron O’Neill, set up shop at a short distance. The crowd around Lowry was growing.

At 3:01, Lowry went to the chipping green adjacent to the range, and he dropped a handful of precise shots to within three feet of the cup. A woman yelled after him, “Shane! Represent Ireland!” He did not apparently hear her, either.

At 3:07, Lowry ascended the staircase, got on a cart and rode to Oakmont’s large practice green, which connects to the green at the end of the ninth hole. At 3:17, he shared a long-distance glance and chuckle with defending champion Jordan Spieth, who was putting on the ninth with playing partner Graeme McDowell.

That was Lowry’s first visible show of emotion during his warmup. The other came when he had a hearty laugh with his final pairing partner, the much smaller Andrew Landry, on the side of the practice green at 3:22. They were joking about the green speeds, which Lowry remarked felt similar to those during Tuesday’s practice round, when they played quickly before rain drenched them on Wednesday and Thursday.

Lowry walked down a human tunnel to the first tee at 3:23, and it was tough to get a read on whether he was merely laser-focused or also a little bit nervous.

On his second hole, Lowry left an approach shot short and eventually made bogey, just his seventh of the tournament.

Dustin Johnson had teed off in the group right ahead of Lowry and birdied that same second hole by driving the green and two-putting. Suddenly Lowry’s four-stroke lead was a two-stroke lead, and the final round started to feel like a dogfight.

That’s how it always is at Oakmont, where five straight U.S. Opens until this one were decided either by one stroke or a playoff, dating back to Jack Nicklaus’ playoff win over Arnold Palmer in 1962. You’re not supposed to blow out the field.

Johnson first tied Lowry as the two men were wrapping up their front nines, Johnson one group on the course ahead of Lowry. Johnson needed to pick up four strokes on Lowry, and he’d done it after his front nine. He picked up three more on the back, and this thing was over by the time Johnson pounded a glorious drive down the middle of Oakmont’s 18th fairway, with Lowry stuck in the rough off the 17th green.

In sum, Lowry shot 76. Johnson shot 69. That was that, and Johnson was the winner.

As Lowry walked from the 17th tee box toward the green, the gallery was in a frenzy over Johnson, who was cruising home up ahead. Lowry barely looked up on his walk up the short par-4, and his black attire genuinely gave a funeral-like impression. Lowry looked stoic all day, and by the end, he just looked sad. It was the downside of DJ’s big comeback.