Shane Lowry has expressed doubt over the two-shot penalty he received during the second round of The Open, after officials ruled he had moved his ball during a practice swing. The Irish golfer accepted the penalty but said he was not entirely convinced the ball had moved.
Lowry was playing the 12th hole at Royal Troon when he took a practice swing in the rough. Officials later determined that his club had touched foliage near the ball, causing it to move. Lowry insisted he did not see the ball move, but the R&A stated that the movement was discernible to the naked eye, regardless of whether the player was looking.
The penalty turned Lowry's 70 into a 72, leaving him ten shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler. Lowry said he accepted the penalty to avoid being labelled a cheat on social media. 'I had to take the penalty because I can't have my name talked about or tossed around like that,' he said.
The R&A explained that the two-shot penalty was applied because Lowry played the ball from its new position, which constituted playing from a wrong place. The governing body said the rules require that the ball's movement be discernible to the naked eye, and in Lowry's case, it was.
