Shane Lowry hit with 2-shot penalty after rules drama at The Open

It wouldn’t be The Open without a little rules kerfuffle. And this year it’s Shane Lowry in the spotlight…

Shane Lowry has found himself at the centre of a Rules of Golf incident at The Open.

The Irishman’s ball appeared to move as he played a practice swing. The footage was shared across social media.

R&A rules official Charlie Maran said in the coverage: “We’ll have to find out whether or not it was deemed that Shane actually caused his ball to move. The grass is wet, the ball may have been on a slope. We just have to work [it] out.”

After a 20-minute post-round review with R&A rules officials, Lowry was issued a two-shot penalty.

His 70 became a 72 and he is even-par for the tournament. It drops him from a tie for 17th to tied-34th.

Scottie Scheffler, who was playing with Lowry, said the 2019 Champion Golfer was “put in a tough situation, but handled it very well”.

Lowry had already been subject to a social media backlash earlier in the day when he was caught on a hot mic shouting “F*** this place!” before slamming his club into the Portrush turf.