Shane Lowry slips to seven off the lead in Florida

Shane Lowry lost more ground on the leaders in his third-round effort at the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches in Florida.

Yesterday Lowry sat five shots off the lead but a poor start proved costly for the Offaly man. On the first nine Lowry opened the round with a bogey and managed pars for the rest.

The second nine was a similar affair, with a bogey on the 14th being offset by birdies on the 10th and 13th.

The 37-year-old now sits in tied 35th position at one under par having carded a 71, this comes after being in a positive position going into the weekend.

LEADERBOARD

Jake Knapp held on to his one-stroke lead heading into the final round.

The American, who carded a 59 in the opening round, dropped to three off the pace at the turn as 10 players enjoyed at least a share of the lead during the round.

Four birdies on the back nine, including two in the last three holes, took Knapp to a 68 and a 16-under-par total.

Michael Kim, one of several victims of the short 15th hole, is one stroke off the pace after a 67.

Russell Henley, Ben Griffin and Doug Ghim are a further shot adrift, one ahead of Rickie Fowler and Taylor Montgomery, who recovered from a seven on the 15th after putting two tee shots in the water – one almost hitting an alligator.

Austria's Sepp Straka carded a 67 to sit in a group on 12-under-par which also included Matthieu Pavon of France, the only other non-American in the top 13.

The 15th’s victims also included Sweden’s Jesper Svensson, who reached the hole with a share of the lead but triple-bogeyed it after putting his second from the bunker in the water. Ireland's Lowry managed to hold his nerve and par the tricky 15th.