The Open: Shane Lowry hit with two-shot penalty after second round at Royal Portrush in major blow to challenge
Shane Lowry accepted a two-stroke penalty following the second round of The Open at Royal Portrush; Lowry was "disappointed" with being penalised for his ball moving on a practice swing in the rough on the par-five 12th; Watch The Open live on Sky Sports Golf
Saturday 19 July 2025 13:15, UK
Shane Lowry's hopes of another major victory at Royal Portrush suffered a significant setback after he was handed a two-shot penalty at the end of his second round at The Open.
The 2019 champion reached the 15th hole of his second round when he was informed by an R&A rules official that he was under investigation, following an incident playing his second shot on the par-five 12th.
Footage emerged appearing to show Lowry's ball moving during a practice swing in the rough on that hole, where the Irishman had made par, with his group - containing Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa - then asked to look at the video evidence post-round.
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Lowry was subsequently handed a two-shot penalty for causing his ball to move, turning his par into a double bogey and dropping him from two under back to level par.
In a statement, the R&A said: "The Rules require three things to be assessed in such situations: 1. Did the ball leave its original position and come to rest on another spot? 2. Was the ball's movement to another spot discernible to the naked eye? and 3. If the ball did come to rest on another spot and the movement was discernible to the naked eye, is it known or virtually certain that the player's actions caused the ball to move?
"Assessing whether the movement of the ball was visible to the naked eye in such a situation assumes the player being in a normal address position for the stroke. In Shane Lowry's situation, the movement of the ball to another spot, including the movement of the logo, was discernible to the naked eye.
"The naked eye test is satisfied whether or not the player was looking at the ball when it moved. It was clear that the ball moved immediately after the player's club touched foliage close to the ball during a practice swing and that the player's actions caused the ball to move.
"In these circumstances there is a one stroke penalty and the ball must be replaced. However, as the ball was played from the spot where it was moved to, the player played from a wrong place and incurs a total penalty of two strokes."
Lowry: 'I didn't see it move!'
Lowry heads into the weekend on level par and 10 strokes behind Scheffler, and the 38-year-old was disappointed with the outcome of the incident after initially being unaware of any wrongdoing.
"I didn't know anything happened until walking up the 15th fairway and then the rules official came over and told me that there was a possibility the ball moved on the 12th for my second shot," Lowry said post-round.
"I've asked him 'how many shot penalty is that if it did [move]?', and he said 'two'. Obviously then I feel like I'm on the cut mark then, which is not very nice. I feel like I played well on the way in and then obviously waited to see.
"I was in there with the rules official and wasn't arguing my case, but I'm disappointed that they don't have more camera angles on it. The one zoomed in, in slow motion - they're trying to tell me if it doesn't move from the naked eye, if you don't see it moving, it didn't move.
"I told them I definitely was looking down towards the ball as I was taking that practice swing, and I didn't see it move.
"The last thing I want to do is sit there and argue and not take the penalty and then get slaughtered all over social media tonight for being a cheat.
"If the ball moved, I would have called it on myself. My head was definitely looking down at the ball and I didn't see it moving. But I'm out there signing for a 72 there now.
"I'll go out there, I'll be a little bit earlier than I thought I was going to be. I'm going to miss the Lions game now, which is disappointing. Yeah, I'll just do my best."
Scheffler: 'Tough situation' for Lowry
Lowry was playing alongside Morikawa - who missed the cut after a second-round 74 - and halfway leader Scheffler, who praised the Irishman's handling of the situation.
"I felt like Shane was put in a pretty tough situation there when they were zooming in on his golf ball," Scheffler said. "In the rough it's hard to tell.
"From what I looked at very briefly on the video, it looked like it was very difficult to see if the ball moved. The camera was kind of zooming in as stuff was happening.
"One of the great things about the game of golf is that you call your penalties on yourself. This situation, I think it was a very tough spot for Shane to be put in. He handled it really well. It's obviously very frustrating.
"It's frustrating for me as a competitor of his and a player to watch him after kind of deal with that, because the last thing you want to be known in the game of golf is somebody who cheats.
"I'm not going to state a strong opinion here in the media on whether or not I thought he deserved the penalty, but all I'm going to say is it was a very tough situation for him to be put in, and I thought he handled it really well."
McGinley: There has to be more leeway
Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, speaking to Sky Sports:
"It is the rules, technically. It's a bit like VAR and soccer, when somebody's toenail is past the line, it's offside. It's very frustrating. I watched that live and I didn't notice anything and Shane didn't notice anything.
"The R&A had to apply it because it was proved in slow motion, but it's difficult, and it's very harsh. It's an outdoor sport, you got long grasses, you got wind, you got weather conditions, you've got rain yesterday, there's got to be a little bit of a leeway.
"I understand what the R&A did. I'm not being critical of them, but I think the rule needs a little bit more of a leeway. It's such a fine line. I think it needs to be looked at. I'm always a believer in this game that, we're our own referees out there and integrity of you as a competitor is really important.
"Whether it's on the local golf club at home or whether it's playing in the Open Championship. The onus should be on the player. That's something that's great about our game and I want to keep going down that road.
"There's going to be some people that might take advantage of it, but I think the biggest thing is the spirit of the game and that you play the game with proper integrity. I think that's harsh and maybe the rule needs a little bit more leeway."
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