One of the more controversial moments at this year’s Open Championship came on Friday when 2019 champion Shane Lowry was given a two shot penalty following an incident on the 12th hole.
Shane Lowry‘s hopes of winning The Open Championship for a second time seemed to be dashed at the halfway mark at Royal Portrush.
Lowry was two under par after two rounds, and looking set to find himself eight shots back of Scottie Scheffler. However, towards the end of Friday, he was informed that he may be penalised two shots and be left on even par.
Television cameras had picked up that Lowry’s ball had ever so slightly moved when he took a practice swing in the rough on the 12th hole. Lowry appeared to be looking up around the time the ball moved, while the cameras had to zoom in and slow the footage right down to make it clear.
Dan Rapaport suggests a rule change after what happened to Shane Lowry at The Open Championship
Scheffler praised Lowry for the way he handled the situation. Jon Rahm meanwhile, made the case that Lowry should not have received a penalty if no one around him managed to notice the ball oscillate.
Certainly, there was no suggestion at all that Lowry was attempting to improve his lie. And speaking on Dan on Golf, Dan Rapaport insisted that the penalty certainly should not have been as strict.
“I have got an idea. What about a one shot penalty? Why is that a two shot penalty? Shane Lowry took a swing and the ball moved. That is a stroke. One stroke,” he said.
“I feel like a two shot penalty implies some sort of intent or some sort of funny business, whereas you swung at a ball and the ball moved. That should be one shot added to your score. It feels like a pretty self-evident solution to this situation.”
Greater consequences for Shane Lowry at Royal Portrush may have increased likelihood of a rule change
Fortunately for Lowry, it appeared that the incident looked highly unlikely to cost him a great deal this past week. He finished two under par for the tournament after battling illness on Saturday.
But perhaps it would have helped in the long run if he was in contention at the time. The feeling that the rule should be changed would surely be heightened if it knocked Lowry out of the lead, or resulted in him missing the cut.
It also does not seem to be fair that Lowry has been punished because he was on the television coverage at the time. Ultimately, at three over par heading into the final round, very few of his shots were going to be scrutinised on Sunday so there could have easily been a very different outcome if a similar incident did happen.
You can understand why the rule exists. There does need to be a penalty if a player manages to improve their own lie. However, incidents like the one involving Lowry highlight that it is not a perfect rule, by any means.
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