Shane Lowry docked 2 shots when his golf ball moves a fraction of an inch at British Open

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (AP) — Shane Lowry was hopeful of making a few birdies to inch a little closer to Scottie Scheffler in the British Open. And then he learned about the potential of a two-shot penalty, and it became a pressure-filled finish to make the cut.

Lowry was penalized two shots when his ball moved a fraction of an inch — the label on his golf is seen to dip ever so slightly — while he was taking a practice swing next to the ball in the rain-soaked rough on the par-5 12th at Royal Portrush.

That turned his 70 into a 1-over 72. He goes into weekend 10 shots behind the No. 1 player in the world at Royal Portrush, where Lowry won the claret jug in 2019.

He said the R&A informed him of the potential penalty on the 15th hole — Lowry was at 1 under, and the 36-hole cut was looking to be at 1-over par.

“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,” Lowry said. “But I had to take the penalty because — I’m still not sure, to be honest, whether it was or not — but I had to take the penalty because I can’t have my name talked about or tossed around like that, and I just get on with it.

“It’s obviously very disappointing,” he said. “Look, I’ll just have to dust myself off and get out there tomorrow and give it a go.”

There is an exception for when a violation could be seen with the naked eye, without having to rely on video that zooms in. Lowry told them while he didn’t see it move, he was looking down in the direction of the ball.

Assuming there might be a penalty, Lowry made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 15th and closed with three pars. With the penalty, he was at even-par 142.

Lowry said he felt the R&A officials had their minds made up that he caused the ball to move under the rules and that it would be a two-shot penalty.

“They only had one camera angle, which was zoomed in at the ball. They had none of me actually full length, which we were looking for and needed,” he said.

“If the ball moved and I caused it to move and it moved, it’s a two-shot penalty,” he said. “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.”

Lowry and Scheffler, who played together, met with the officials for about 20 minutes after the round to review the video.

“It was a very tough spot for Shane to be put in,” Scheffler said. “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.”

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