Shane Lowry has been penalised with two strokes during the second round of the 2025 Open Championship, following an incident on the 12th hole at Royal Portrush. The Irishman, who won at this very venue in 2019, completed his round with 72 strokes (+1), although his initial scorecard was 70 (-1), before the penalty was applied.
It all happened when Lowry was about to take his second shot on the par five 12th hole. While making a practice swing in the rough, cameras captured the ball moving slightly. Although the golfer did not notice it at the time, the R&A initiated a review of the incident. It was on the 15th hole when Lowry was informed that he was under investigation.
“They told me on the 15th. I was informed it was a two-stroke penalty, so I felt I was on the cut line,” the player explained after his round. “I’m disappointed there aren’t more camera angles. They say if you can’t see it move, it doesn’t move. I didn’t see it, but I had to accept the penalty because I’m not going to let my name be dragged around.”
R&A officials met with Lowry and his playing partners, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa, for about 20 minutes at the end of the day. The final decision was to apply one stroke for moving the ball and another for not replacing it to its original position before playing it, incurring a “stroke from the wrong place”.
“It’s a very disappointing situation. It’s hard to digest, but I have to get up and go out to compete tomorrow,” Lowry continued. “I’m not going to let them call me a cheat or let my name be dragged through social media. I’ve already signed a scorecard of 72. I’ll have to think about this tonight before I sleep.” Although he also wanted to make it clear
Lowry managed to stay within the cut despite the setback, but he will need a great performance over the weekend to get back into contention for the Claret Jug at the course where he already made history.
Hours after the two-stroke penalty to Shane Lowry was confirmed, the R&A issued a detailed statement to justify their decision. The organisation explained that the criteria stipulated by the Rules of Golf were applied to assess this type of situation, where a ball may move before the stroke.
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The analysis focused on three key questions: Did the ball leave its original position and rest in another place? Was that movement visible to the naked eye? and, Is it known with certainty, or near certainty, that the player’s actions caused the movement?
In Lowry’s case, the R&A stated: “The movement of the ball to another place, including the displacement of the logo, was discernible to the naked eye. This assessment does not depend on whether the player was looking at the ball at that moment.”
The institution added: “It was evident that the ball moved immediately after the player’s club touched the nearby vegetation during a practice swing, and that his actions caused the movement. In these circumstances, the penalty is one stroke and the ball must be replaced. As the ball was played from the wrong position, an additional penalty applies, totalling two strokes.” He will start the weekend ten strokes behind the leader, Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler himself, who shared the round with Lowry, backed the Irishman after the round: “In golf, everything falls on the player’s integrity, and Shane was put in a very difficult situation when they started zooming in on his ball. In the rough, it’s hard to know if it moved. He handled it very well. It’s frustrating. As his competitor and as a golfer, it’s upsetting to see him go through this, because the last thing you want is to be seen as someone who cheats.”
“I’m not going to give a strong opinion on whether he deserved the penalty or not, but it was a very tough situation and I think he handled it with a lot of composure,” concluded the world number one.
