Scottie Scheffler praised for ‘wonderful’ classy gesture as he walked down the 18th with Shane Lowry at The Open

SCOTTIE Scheffler showed the crowds at Royal Portrush just why he is the No1 ranked golfer in the world.

He shot a remarkable round of 64 to put himself in pole position to win his first Open title.

GettyScottie Scheffler has been on outstanding form at Portrush[/caption]

The 16-time PGA Tour winner is in ominous form, and led the field by a stroke at the halfway stage.

He has three-time Major champion also showed his class as he walked up the 18th fairway on Friday evening.

He was playing with former Open champion Shane Lowry, who is loved by the crowds at Royal Portrush for his dominant win here six years ago.

Lowry, 38, had the majority of the fans behind him during the first two rounds of The Open.

Unfortunately for Lowry, he ended up on even-par for the tournament, after receiving a two-stroke penalty when he was adjudged to have moved his ball at address accidentally on the 12th hole.

As Scheffler and Lowry walked up the 18th fairway at the close of the second round, Sky Sports commentator Rich Beem spotted something “wonderful”.

Scheffler, along with their other playing partner Collin Morikawa, dropped back a few steps to allow Lowry to accept the adulation of the crowd on his own.

Beem said on Sky: “I love the sign of respect from the other two players, allowing Shane to walk up to the green on his own. Wonderful touch.”

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Lowry was slapped with a two-stroke penalty after his ball appeared to move ever so slightly on a practice swing.

Lowry did not see it move but accepted the harsh punishment – because he could not risk being labelled a cheat.

Scheffler was asked about the incident – and he heaped praise on the 2019 champion.

AFPCollin Morikawa hangs back on the 18th, along with Scottie Scheffler out of picture[/caption]

Scheffler said: “Ultimately in golf it’s up to the player, and I felt like Shane was put in a pretty tough situation there when they were zooming in on his golf ball.

“In the rough it’s hard to tell. From what I looked at very briefly on the video, it looked like it was very difficult to see if the ball moved.

“One of the great things about the game of golf is that you call your penalties on yourself.

“He handled it really well. It’s obviously very frustrating.”

Lowry was fuming after the penalty but took it on the chin.

He said: “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.

Sky SportsShane Lowry appeared to make the ball move with his practice swing[/caption]

Sky SportsThe ball nudged ever so slightly backwards[/caption]

“But I had to take the penalty because I can’t have my name talked about or tossed around like that.

“I’m still not sure, to be honest, whether it moved or not. But I had to take the penalty and just get on with it. It’s obviously very disappointing.

“I felt like I played really, really well today, and something like this is hard to take.

“Look, I’ll just have to dust myself off and get out there tomorrow and give it a go.”