Shane Lowry handed PENALTY after rules breach controversy at The Open as frustrated star yells ‘f*** this place’

SHANE LOWRY was given a TWO-SHOT penalty after a major rules breach controversy during his second round at The Open.

The frustrated star – who earlier shouted “f*** this place” in a moment of anger – suffered the ruling after his ball moved during a practice swing.

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

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

Sky SportsThe rules controversy came on the hole after his X-rated outburst[/caption]

Lowry, 38, had gone bogey-free for the first ten holes to get to -2.

But his wayward tee shot on 11 spooned left, causing him to yell out the expletive in anger as he made bogey.

And he suffered more agony on the par-5 12th after finding the rough off the tee.

Lowry headed over to his ball and tried to figure out how he could recover.

But as he swung his club head through the long grass on a practice swing, TV cameras appeared to show the ball move ever so slightly.

Lowry nor his caddie Darren Reynolds noticed the tiny motion at the time and therefore the world No18 did not call it on himself.

But he was assessed the two-stroke penalty after his round was over, leaving him level for the tournament – meaning he made the cut by ONE shot.

Irishman Lowry – winner of the last Open at Portrush in 2019 – admitted afterwards he could not risk cheating allegations and accepted the penalty.

And he suffered a nervous final four holes, knowing the punishment could have seen him miss the cut if he slipped up again.

The Ryder Cup star said: “I didn’t know anything happened until I was walking up the 15th fairway. The rules official came over and told me that there was a possibility the ball moved on the 12th for my second shot.

“I asked him, how many shots is the penalty if it did, and he said, two. Obviously then I feel like I’m on the cut mark, which is not very nice.

“I feel like I played well on the way in to be sure of making the cut, and then I was in there with the rules official.

“I wasn’t arguing my case, but I’m disappointed that they don’t have more camera angles on it. They’re telling me if it doesn’t move from the naked eye, if you don’t see it moving, it didn’t move.

“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 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.”

Lowry may not have been aware of it but TV commentators and golf fans watching at home immediately highlighted the incident.

One social media user said: “Did Shane Lowry’s ball move juuuuust a tad on that practice swing??”

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Another wrote: “If they don’t stroke Lowry we’re going to have major major problems.”

A third asked: “Did anyone else see this? Saw it live. Looked like Lowry’s practice swing moved the ball. What do you all see?”

And a fourth added: “The ball clearly moved. This whole ‘did he see it’ or not issue should be irrelevant. He clearly caused the ball to move when he took the practice swing.”

Lowry ended up making a par on the hole – but it was changed to a double-bogey after his round.

He was previously slapped with a one-shot penalty at the US Open when he picked up his ball from the green without marking it.

Golf rules state: “If you take a practice swing and cause your ball to move, you still have not made a stroke, but you will get a one-stroke penalty for moving your ball in play.

“The ball must be replaced on its original spot. If the player instead plays the ball from where it was moved to after their practice swing, it becomes a two-stroke penalty.”

It came on a frustrating day for Lowry, who forced Sky Sports to apologise for his earlier angry outburst.

Commentator Ewan Murray said on Sky Sports Golf: “Sorry about the language slipping through there.”

Incredibly, it is the third different Major out of four this year where Lowry has used the X-rated phrase.