Shane Lowry is finding his difficulties at The Open hard to take, after he dealt with sickness during a troublesome third round.

Lowry was hit with a two-stroke penalty on Friday for causing his ball to move during a practice swing.

The 2019 Open champion went from two under to even par, and a three-over par 74 did nothing for his slender hopes on Saturday.

Lowry had to contend with a virus, further hampering his comeback attempts, though the Irishman offered no excuses.

"I wanted to do well so badly today and this week," a despondent Lowry told reporters.

"I put so much into this week that, yeah, it's hard to take."

Asked about his sickness, Lowry said: "No, not great. I haven't eaten today yet. I tried to get a protein drink down me after eight holes, and I felt like throwing up all over the place.

"Yeah, it's been a tough day, but I'm not going to make excuses. I played poorly today and obviously had a bad finish.

"I felt like I ground it out really well to get to one-under for the day through 13. Then a bad shot on 14 and a little bit of a bad break as well.

"It's hard to take. You get home late and have to dust yourself off. Woke up at 2:30 with cramps in my stomach."

While Lowry struggled, former world number one Lee Westwood recovered from a dismal front nine by sinking birdies on six of the last nine holes.

Lee Westwood made it through Final Qualifying to book his place in The 153rd Open.

Today, he carded a back-nine 29 at Royal Portrush and currently sits in the top 20. pic.twitter.com/wX8c8CN0a6

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 19, 2025

His effort of 29 across the back nine tied the course record set by Ryan Fox in 2019.

"It was a good back nine, wasn't it," quipped Westwood, who finished the day on five under after missing a birdie putt on the 18th.

"The putt at the last, I'm not sure how it's missed. I felt like I could birdie every hole. Just shows you, you've got to be patient and never give up, right? Stick at it."