The weather at Royal Troon wreaked all sorts of havoc on the leading golfers competing in the 2024 Open Championship.

Second-round leader Shane Lowry gave six shots back to the course and slipped down to ninth place.

A big drop down the leaderboard was expected more from Lowry's playing partner, Daniel Brown, the surprise 18-hole leader who is ranked 272nd in the world.

Brown did finish with a double bogey on the 18th hole, but for the most part, he played well for the first time in this scenario.

Brown's late double bogey allowed Billy Horschel to head into Sunday with the solo 54-hole lead.

Horschel and Xander Schauffele were two of the few players in the final dozen groups to post a low under-par score.

The majority of Saturday's low rounds came from the early pairings, which jumbled up the leaderboard going into Sunday.

The full Open Championship leaderboard can be found here on the tournament's official website.

Daniel Brown Plays Better Than Shane Lowry out of Final Group

Many people expected Daniel Brown and Shane Lowry to have opposite scores than they actually produced on Saturday.

Lowry, the experienced links-style golfer who won the 2019 Open, tumbled out of the 36-hole lead and down to ninth place.

Brown kept his composure for the majority of the round with his only real blemish coming on the 18th hole.

Lowry's round started well, as he got up to eight-under for the tournament with a birdie on the fourth hole. Everything went downhill for the Irishman on the back nine as the conditions worsened. He bogeyed five of the final eight holes to go three shots behind the leader.

Brown's double bogey on No. 18 was disappointing, but it still kept him within one shot of Horschel going into Sunday.

Both players still have a chance to win the Claret Jug because conditions are expected to be much better on Sunday, but Brown emerged with the better round, something few believed would happen.

Billy Horschel, Xander Schauffele Make Best of Poor Afternoon Conditions

Billy Horschel and Xander Schauffele made the best of the poor conditions on Saturday afternoon.

Horschel and Schauffele each played two-under rounds while everyone else struggled to maintain an even-par score in the rain and wind.

Horschel produced the best collection of shots on Saturday with his irons. He came incredibly close to holing out a few shots on the back nine.

The incredible short game play allowed Horschel to finish his round at four-under for the tournament with a two-under 69. Most golfers in the final groups would have loved to produce something similar.

Schauffele carved out a similar path up the leaderboard with his third-round play. The 2024 PGA champion rolled in four birdies on the first 10 holes. He lost two shots with bogeys on Nos. 11 and 18, but he made six pars on the back nine to remain one shot back of Horschel.

Twelve other players shot two-under or better on Saturday, including Sam Burns, Thriston Lawrence and Russell Henley, but none of those scores came from the final 10-12 groups when the conditions were the worst.

Even Par Round Helps Scottie Scheffler Stay in Contention

Scottie Scheffler did not improve his overall score at The Open Championship, but he did move up the leaderboard with his 71.

Scheffler is just two shots back in eighth place going into Sunday's final round.

Scheffler, Schauffele, Justin Rose and Lowry are the only previous major champions with an under-par score. Scheffler is the only member of the trio with multiple major titles.

The final-round experience and consistency across Royal Troon should help Scheffler contend for the Claret Jug.

Scheffler either shot a 70 or 71 in the first three rounds, and if he is able to improve on those scores by a few strokes in better conditions, he could find himself atop the leaderboard on Sunday.