Shane Lowry appeared to unknowingly commit a penalty while fighting to remain in contention during the second round of The Open Championship on Friday.
Lowry pulled his drive left at the par-5 12th hole at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. The ball ended up in some long grass, which made for a difficult shot in wet conditions.
As he prepared to hit his second shot, Lowry took a practice swing that appeared to make his ball move. He did not seem to notice what happened, but USA television cameras happened to be focused on his ball at the time.
The ball clearly oscillated:
Sure looks like Shane Lowry's ball moved on the practice swing here pic.twitter.com/qXkc8e1sTJ
— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) July 18, 2025
In a situation like that, the question for rules officials becomes whether the ball moved as a direct result of the player’s practice swing. If that is deemed to be the case, the golfer is assessed a 2-stroke penalty. There is no penalty if it is determined that the ball moved on its own and was not influenced by the practice swing.
Unfortunately for Lowry, the ball moved right when his club skimmed the grass on his practice swing. Either the swing is what made the ball move, or the 2019 Open Championship winner had some of the worst luck imaginable.
Lowry made a par on the hole to remain at 1-under. He was already eight shots back of the lead at the time, so a 2-stroke penalty would be costly.
