The Open Championship at Royal Portrush came back after a 68-year wait in 2019, and Irishman Shane Lowry won. It was a great moment for Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Lowry himself. With golf's oldest major back at Royal Portrush, he was hoping to do it again. The chances of a repeat for the 38-year-old seem dashed after Friday. Lowry was assessed a penalty for his ball moving on the 12th hole after a lengthy review.
BREAKING
Shane Lowry was assessed a two-stroke penalty for this incident on the 12th hole.
According to @ToddLewisGC The R&A spent nearly 20 minutes reviewing the video with Lowry, Scheffler and Morikawa after the round.
pic.twitter.com/iJEAuP6gXM— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) July 18, 2025
Lowry took his practice swing on the 12th hole, and the ball slipped just a smidge. That was enough to cost him two shots, dropping him from two under on the tournament to even par. The Open Championship is far from over, but Lowry may have played his way out of it on Friday. This penalty certainly did not help.
The penalty changed Lowry's score on the par five 12th from a five to a seven. The shot that followed the penalty landed in the fairway bunker, which cost him a chance at a birdie. That followed a tough bogey on the 11th, but Lowry did bounce back with a birdie on the 15th.
Television cameras immediately caught Lowry's ball moving, sending the clip to social media. The Royal & Ancient Golf Club rules team reviewed the clip, but could not come to a conclusion without speaking to Lowry. A rules official came out onto the course to inform him of this, and the meeting happened after the round. The meeting took place with his playing partners Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa.
Lowry spoke with the press after the ruling, per Normal Sport's Kyle Porter. “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 because – I'm still not sure, to be honest, whether it was or not.”
