Shane Lowry ‘Disappointed’ After Getting Assessed with 2-Stroke Penalty at Open Championship

Shane Lowry was handed a 2-stroke penalty in the 2nd round of the Open Championship after his ball appeared to have moved slightly from its position.

Shane Lowry ‘Disappointed’ After Getting Assessed with 2-Stroke Penalty at Open Championship

Shane Lowry (Image via Imago/X/@NUCLRGOLF)

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During the second round of the Open Championship at the Royal Portrush, Shane Lowry was assessed a 2-stroke penalty for accidentally causing his ball to move from its original position. Following the round, the golfer expressed that he was ‘disappointed‘ with this.

Lowry, the 2019 Open Champion, found himself in a troubling situation at the 12th hole during the second round. The Irish golfer would hit his tee shot in the rough and had to find his way out of trouble.

The 38-year-old would take a practice swing before hitting his shot out of the rough. During this swing, slow-motion cameras caught the ball slightly moving from its position.

Lowry had no idea that his ball had moved and went on to play the shot and make par. An R&A rules official would notify him about a possible penalty at the 15th hole.

The officials would later assess him with a 2-stroke penalty. One was for causing the ball to move from its position, and one was the failure to get the ball back in the initial position.

His score for the event would thus go from 2-under par to even par, and he was charged with a double bogey on the 12th hole. He did manage to make the cut and ended the day T34. He would have been T17, had he not been assessed this penalty.

Following the round, the golfer expressed his frustration regarding this penalty. While speaking to the reporters, he claimed that he was “disappointed” as they did not have more camera angles to analyze the situation.

I’m disappointed that they don’t have more camera angles on it. The one zoomed 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.

Shane Lowry told the reporters

Lowry later added that he was “not sure” whether it was actually a penalty or not. The golfer, who won this event in 2019 in this venue, was happy with his performance on Friday, though.

During the competition, Lowry was also seen dropping some f-bombs. He has been notorious for losing his cool and venting his frustration on the course.

Before the drama on the 12th hole, he dropped a “F*** off” and “F*** this place” comments on the 11th hole after being angry with his tee shot. Considering that he won his only major at this venue in 2019, some were stunned to hear these words from him.

Scottie Scheffler came into defense of Shane Lowry following the 2-stroke penalty

Shane Lowry‘s joyous homecoming was spoiled a little bit on Friday after he was assessed with a 2-stroke penalty in the second round of the Open Championship. Scottie Scheffler would later come to the defense of the Irish golfer.

Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry
Scottie Scheffler and Shane Lowry (Image via PGA Tour/Golf Digest)

The World No.1 was playing in the same group as Lowry. After the round, he would also take a look at the footage of the incident. While speaking to the media after the round, the American international expressed that Lowry was put in a ‘tough‘ situation.

It was very difficult to see if the ball was moving. Ultimately in golf it’s up to the player, and I felt like Shane was put in a pretty tough situation there when they were zooming in on his golf ball. In the rough it’s hard to tell.

Scottie Scheffler told the reporters

Speaking of Scheffler, he had an amazing day at the Royal Portrush on Friday. The 3-time major champion carded a score of 7-under 64 in the second round.

The 29-year-old made 8 birdies and 1 bogey on the day when the rains and winds played a part. His score of 7-under saw him leapfrog to the top of the standings and finish the day as the solo leader at 10-under par.

In the third round, Scheffler will play alongside Matt Fitzpatrick, who is one shot behind him at 9-under on the leaderboard. Just behind them is Brian Harman, who ran away with the competition in 2023, at T3 with an 8-under par score.

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