You’d think the former Champion Golfer of the Year at Royal Portrush would know what he was doing on the course. Shane Lowry was confident that he, too, didn’t break any rules when he was taking his practice swings on the second shot of the 12th hole on Friday. However, the R&A officials seem to think otherwise. The Irishman confirmed, “I definitely was looking down towards the ball as I was taking that practice swing, and I didn’t see it move.” Yet, he was forced to take a 2 stroke penalty, pushing his score down from 2 under to even par. European legend and acclaimed journalist, Paul McGinley, believes Shane was treated too harshly.

Following the incident in the second round of The Open Championship 2025, McGinley tweeted, “For me, this is very harsh and the rule needs a rethink. The spirit of the rule should be what’s important. A penalty should only be applied if the ball can be seen moving with the naked eye.” For Lowry, the ball definitely didn’t move. However, the R&A believed otherwise. They approached the PGA Tour pro on the 15th hole and informed him of the issue. The officials also stated that they haven’t come to a conclusion yet, and they will review the footage again with Lowry after the round.

The 38-year-old even inquired about the penalty he would face if he were at fault. Once he was notified that he might face a two-stroke penalty, Lowry said, “Obviously, then I feel like I’m on the cut mark then, which is not very nice.” Lowry was 1 under at that point. He went on to score a birdie that round, which put him in a safer position, 1 stroke inside the cutline. Yet, everything that happened after didn’t please the 3-time PGA Tour champion.

Despite consulting with him on the 15th hole and after the round, Lowry believed the officials had already made up their minds on the decision. “I think they had it in their heads the ball moved, I caused it to move, it’s a two-shot penalty,” he said, suggesting that he was put in a difficult position to defend himself. As Shane confessed, “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.” Arguing against the decision would have caused a lot of stress after the round. Not to forget the cheating allegations that would have followed had the issue been leaked out in the media. He must have witnessed the heat Patrick Reed faced from the community as they bashed him for cheating.

Scottie Scheffler comes to Shane Lowry’s defence

As confirmed by Yahoo Sports, the world #1 was also present throughout the entire incident, even during the post-round review. Speaking of what he saw on the recording, Scottie Scheffler said, “Ultimately in golf it’s up to the player, and I felt like Shane was put in a pretty tough situation there. When you’re zooming in on his golf ball, in the rough, it’s hard to tell.” Based on the 2025 PGA Championship winner, it was hard to determine if the ball actually moved or if it was the process of zooming in that created the illusion that it did.

Being a part of the Featured Group in the second round, Scheffler, Lowry, and Collin Morikawa had many cameras following them around. So the R&A had a lot of footage to work with. Despite that, the decision they came up with in the end was still deemed unfair by the 3-time major winner. He added, “I’m not going to state a strong opinion here in the media on whether or not I thought he deserved a penalty. But all I’m going to say is it was a very tough situation for him to be put in, and I thought that he handled it really well.” While the penalty can’t be reversed, Lowry’s statement, McGinley’s comments, and Scheffler’s support would hopefully force the R&A to tread carefully in such situations in the future.