Lowry wont be called cheat after Open penalty

Shane Lowry won the Open the last time it was played at Royal Portrush in 2019

Shane Lowry said he would not be called a "cheat" after accepting a two-stroke penalty during the second round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

The R&A judged that the Irishman, who lifted the Claret Jug at Portrush in 2019, caused his ball to move during a practice swing on the 12th hole.

Lowry said he did not see the ball move and was "disappointed" that the decision was not based on footage from more camera angles.

He finished his round on two-under but was told of the penalty when on the 15th hole.

The penalty leaves Lowry on level-par, one shot above the cut line and he drops from a tie for 17th to tied for 34th.

Lowry, 38, said he would have called a penalty on himself if he felt he had moved the ball and said he was not "arguing" his case with the rules official.

"The last thing I want to do is sit there and argue and not take the penalty and then get slaughtered all over social media tonight for being a cheat," said the world number 18.

"Im disappointed that they dont have more camera angles on it. The one zoomed in slow motion - theyre trying to tell me if it doesnt move from the naked eye, if you dont see it moving, it didnt move.

"I told them I definitely was looking down towards the ball as I was taking that practice swing, and I didnt see it move."

Knowing he had a potential penalty, Lowry then birdied the 15th and said he "played his way" into the weekend as he survived the cut by one stroke.

In a statement released on Friday, the R&A said "movement of the ball to another spot, including the movement of the logo, was discernible to the naked eye.

"The naked eye test is satisfied whether or not the player was looking at the ball when it moved.

"It was clear that the ball moved immediately after the players club touched foliage close to the ball during a practice swing and that the players actions caused the ball to move."

Lowrys penalty means he is now 10 shots off leader and playing partner Scottie Scheffler.

Scheffler said that Lowry was put in "a pretty tough situation" but "ultimately in golf its up to the player".

"In the rough its 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 was moving," the world number one said.

"It was a very tough spot for Shane to be put in. He handled it really well. Its obviously very frustrating."

Scheffler refused to be drawn on whether he felt Lowry deserved the penalty, but reiterated "it was a very tough situation for him to be put in".

"Its frustrating for me as a competitor of his and a player to watch him after kind of deal with that because the last thing you want to be known in the game of golf is somebody who cheats."