Shane Lowry said he was conscious of his reputation after accepting a two-stroke penalty for a rules infringement during the second round of the Open. Lowry was adamant he did not see his ball roll backwards in rough at the 12th hole during a practice swing, with officials determining he was in breach of the rules of golf.
Lowry was informed of a potential issue on the 15th before detailed discussion after he closed out on the 18th green. Lowry’s 70 became a 72, leaving him 10 adrift of the tournament leader, Scottie Scheffler, with his score on the 12th changed from five to seven.
“I was in there with the rules official and wasn’t arguing my case but I’m disappointed that they don’t have more camera angles on it,” Lowry said. “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.
“But I had to take the penalty. 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. I felt like I played really, really well today. That’s hard to take.”
Of the post-round scene, Lowry said: “I think they had their decision made. If the ball moved and I caused it to move and it moved, it’s a two-shot penalty. 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. If the ball moved, I would have called it on myself. My head was definitely looking down at the ball and I didn’t see it moving. But I’m out there signing for a 72 there now.”
In a statement, the R&A said Lowry’s own vision was not relevant and explained why the penalty was of two shots. “The rules require three things to be assessed in such situations: 1. Did the ball leave its original position and come to rest on another spot? 2. Was the ball’s movement to another spot discernible to the naked eye? 3. If the ball did come to rest on another spot and the movement was discernible to the naked eye, is it known or virtually certain that the player’s actions caused the ball to move?
“Assessing whether the movement of the ball was visible to the naked eye in such a situation assumes the player being in a normal address position for the stroke.
“In Shane Lowry’s situation, the movement of the ball to another spot, including the movement of the logo, was discernible to the naked eye. The naked eye test is satisfied whether or not the player was looking at the ball when it moved.
“It was clear that the ball moved immediately after the player’s club touched foliage close to the ball during a practice swing and that the player’s actions caused the ball to move.
“In these circumstances there is a one stroke penalty and the ball must be replaced. However, as the ball was played from the spot where it was moved to, the player played from a wrong place and incurs a total penalty of two strokes.”