Shane Lowry reveals health scare left him ‘unable to eat and waking up with stomach cramps' before The Open nightmare
The
Royal
Portrush, finishing with a +3 round of 74 including a triple bogey on 14.
1
Shane Lowry revealed he was struck with a stomach bug at The Open
Credit: Alamy Live News
And speaking to media afterwards, he revealed that he had been dealing with a stomach bug that had ravaged his
family
.
Lowry explained: 'I haven't eaten today yet.
'I tried to get a protein drink down me after eight holes, and I felt like throwing up all over the place.
"Yeah, it's been a tough day, but I'm not going to make excuses. I played poorly today and obviously had a bad finish.
Read More on The Open
"Felt like I'd grounded out really well to get to -1 for the day after 13 and then bad shot on 14 and a bad break as well."
The illness - which has also affected his wife Wendy and daughters Ivy and Iris - led to him having a particularly early start.
He added: 'I woke up at 2:30 with cramps in my stomach. I know we have it in the house.
"Ivy had it a couple of days ago, Wendy had it yesterday. Me and Iris have it today. It'll be gone by the
holidays
next
week.
Most read in Golf
'Honestly, every bathroom I went in and tried to throw up, I couldn't. It's just such a bad feeling.
"I think lack of
energy
towards the end maybe did me in. Look, I don't want to make excuses. It is what it is.'
Shane Lowry's X-rated rant is caught on hot mic after poor shot at The Open
Saturday's struggles, which left him on +3 for the tournament, added insult to injury on what has been a tough weekend for Lowry.
The 2019 champion had just about made the cut for the weekend after he has handed a two-shot penalty on Friday.
He
during a practice swing on the par-5 12th at Portrush.
As he swung his club head through the long grass on a practice swing,
Neither 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.
The 2019 Open winner himself admitted afterwards he could not risk cheating allegations and accepted the penalty.
The
'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.'
'SPIRIT OF THE GAME'
The
social media
.
He said: "For me this is very harsh and the rule needs a re think.
"The spirit of the rule should be what's important. A penalty should only be applied if the ball can be seen moving with the naked eye".
In a statement after Friday's action, the R&A clarified how Lowry had breached Rule 9.4 — Ball Played as It Lies; Ball at Rest Lifted or Moved.
It read: 'During Round Two, Shane Lowry's ball was seen to have moved while he was taking a practice swing for his second shot from the rough at the 12th hole.
'The Rules require three things to be assessed in such situations:
'1. Did the ball leave its original position and come to rest on another spot?
'2. Was the ball's movement to another spot discernible to the naked eye?
"And 3. If the ball did come to rest on another spot and the movement was discernible to the naked eye, is it known or virtually certain that the player's actions caused the ball to move?
'Assessing whether the movement of the ball was visible to the naked eye in such a situation assumes the player being in a normal address position for the stroke.
'In Shane Lowry's situation, the 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 player's club touched foliage close to the ball during a practice swing and that the player's actions caused the ball to move.
'In these circumstances there is a one
stroke
penalty and the ball must be replaced. However, as the ball was played from the spot where it was moved to, the player played from a wrong place and incurs a total penalty of two strokes.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
5 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Harrington gets head straight to dodge twin perils of overthinking and relaxation
The fact he was struggling with his game gave Pádraig Harrington a mental edge in the final round of the Senior Open at Sunningdale on Sunday. In a fascinating insight into his mental outlook these days, Harrington revealed he was unhappy with aspects of his preparation and swing, despite leading by two shots going into Sunday's fourth round. Breaking down the mechanics of his swing struggles, Harrington revealed his abilty to now cope with something less than perfection. "I've been struggling this week. I've been really struggling with my coordination. I've been spinning out of it and just can't get my arms to keep up. Body was going too quick. "When you are struggling, your expectations go down and you can be better mentally and I certainly was excellent all day mentally, and to be honest, I hit it a lot better than I thought. I played a lot better than I thought. I'm sure from the outside, they looked pretty simple, and to be honest, most of the day, it was. "I think I really had a bad warmup, like really bad, again. And I just think when you go out like that, you just are prepared to get the job done with wherever the ball goes; you're going to hit the shot. You're going to get it. Your expectations go down. "I managed myself very well. I tried to swing the smoothest, slowest I could all day. Just tried to really swing within myself. Just try to tone it down and as I said just get around it. I happened to play quite well as it turned out. I didn't overthink it when I was on the golf course. I hit some beautiful iron shots to start off. "So yeah, it worked very nicely but I was prepared for a fight to be honest, and I was surprised I probably played as well as I did, and I had a lot of nice chances all day. "I'm sure from the outside it looked very comfortable, but there was at times, there was a little bit of turmoil in my own head at times." Harrington took the title by three shots from Thomas Bjorn and Justin Leonard. Just as he has learned to cope with feeling below par, he is now acutely aware of the pitfalls of relaxing when a round is going well. "I don't want to relax. That has cost me in the past. One of my worst traits is when I lost a Senior PGA a few weeks ago by relaxing. I get ahead of myself, and you know, sometimes when it's an easy shot, easy tee shot, I can lose focus. "So I want to stay hyped up. And to be honest, I think today, because I wasn't comfortable with my swing, I never let my guard down. I was always into it and focused all day, and yeah, I think that fear really does help me, and certainly, I'm not one for wanting to be relaxed out there because I don't think any of my best performances ever happened that way." Harrington became just the fifth player to win the The Open and the Senior Open, joining Irishmen Darren Clarke and Christy O'Connor Jr. "As you get older, you realise a lot of things is legacy and what you've done and you want to win on a great golf course like Sunningdale. You want to do things that stand out, and having won a real Open, coming out, winning the Senior Open, it does give some — it adds a validation. It's certainly satisfying to do it, to extend your career that way. "There are some great names on the trophy. I was watching it coming out last night. I was looking up inside at the board that has all the winners. It's a deep sense of satisfaction. I'm kind of on a high of winning, but then there will be that deep sense of satisfaction knowing that you've done both. "I'm thrilled to have won but very satisfied that I've won a Senior Open with my two Opens. The fact that only five people have ever done it is quite special. I'm quite proud that I've managed to survive this long in the game. "Longevity, at this stage, I think we look for a lot of things about our legacy in the game. The fact that I'm only the fifth person to have done that double, that's pretty special."
Irish Daily Mirror
8 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Padraig Harrington had 'no idea' Rory McIlroy was supporting him at Senior Open
Padraig Harrington was so locked in during his final round at the Senior Open that he didn't even realise Rory McIlroy was in attendance cheering him on. McIlroy is currently building a home in London and popped down to Sunningdale to take in the final round of the major championship, and was no doubt cheering on Harrington as he won his third senior major title. After carding 65s on Friday and Saturday, a 67 did the business for the 53-year-old, who became just the fifth man ever to win a Senior Open and an Open Championship with his victory in Berkshire. Throughout the week, Harrington had spoken about how his mental resilience was being tested as he battled a swing that he wasn't comfortable with. He kept his focus all afternoon however, and hardly noticed that he had effectively wrapped up the Championship with a fine showing through 17 holes on Sunday. 'The only time I saw a leaderboard was on 18,' said Harrington, who asked his caddie for an update on the final hole. 'I was fully focused on what I was doing." Rory McIlroy (Image: ©INPHO/Ben Brady) The Dubliner didn't even realise that McIlroy was in attendance cheering him on. 'I didn't see him out there. Was he out there?' Harrington said. 'I had the head down all day. I never saw anybody. I had no idea.' Not only did Harrington take home a cheque for more than €600,000 and win his second successive senior major, the two time Open Champion joined an elite class of golfers to have won both The Open and Senior Open. Gary Player, Bob Charles, Tom Watson and Darren Clarke had all achieved the feat, with Harrington now the fifth member of the illustrious group. 'I'm thrilled to have won but very satisfied that I've won a Senior Open with my two Opens,' Harrington said. 'The fact that only five people have ever done it is quite special. I'm quite proud that I've managed to survive this long in the game." 'I think they are the sort of things that you realise over the next couple of days, the significance of it. I'm thrilled, euphoric, that I've gotten it done. 'There are some great names on the trophy. I was watching it coming out last night. I was looking up inside at the board that has all the winners. It's a deep sense of satisfaction. I'm kind of on a high of winning, but then there will be that deep sense of satisfaction knowing that you've done both. 'And especially you come to this stage, there's only a certain window. You know, you can win later on as a senior but the window, they say, sort of up to about 55, 56, so you want to get it done. 'And having had a couple of second places, I didn't want to leave it too long. It would start becoming a problem if you don't win it too soon, and I'm glad I got mine.'
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
‘I'm thrilled, euphoric, that I've gotten it done' – Padraig Harrington makes history with Senior Open win at Sunningdale
As Kilfenora schoolteacher Keane (25) became the first Lahinch man to win the Pierse Motor Group South of Ireland title for 57 years in west Clare, Harrington (53) joined Gary Player, Bob Charles, Tom Watson and Darren Clarke in an exclusive club at Sunningdale's Old Course. Thirty years after he lost his second successive South of Ireland final at Lahinch, Harrington closed with a three-under 67 to win by three shots from Justin Leonard and Thomas Bjorn on 16 under par. 'Right now I'm just thrilled to have won the tournament and gone out there and played well,' said two-time Open champion Harrington, who claimed his third senior major and became just the third man after Player and Bernhard Langer to win the Senior Open and the US Senior Open in the same season. Conscious that his days of winning might be running short, he added: 'I think that will seep in. I know you were talking about how I won The Open, to win the Senior Open, there's only five players, so you want to be in that category. 'I think they are the sort of things that you realise over the next couple of days, the significance of it. I'm thrilled, euphoric, that I've gotten it done. 'There are some great names on the trophy. I was watching it coming out last night. I was looking up inside at the board that has all the winners. It's a deep sense of satisfaction. I'm kind of on a high of winning, but then there will be that deep sense of satisfaction knowing that you've done both. 'And especially you come to this stage, there's only a certain window. You know, you can win later on as a senior but the window, they say, sort of up to about 55, 56, so you want to get it done. 'And having had a couple of second places, I didn't want to leave it too long. It would start becoming a problem if you don't win it too soon, and I'm glad I got mine.' More than 500 miles away in Co Clare, Keane claimed an emotional win at Lahinch, making a five-footer for birdie on the 18th green ringed by hundreds of local supporters to beat Dundalk's Caolan Rafferty one up and become the first local Lahinch member since watching his boyhood coach JD Smyth in 1968 to capture the coveted 'South'. "I don't know what to say," Keane reflected after a day when he beat Edmondstown's Liam Abom 2&1 in the semi-finals and 2018 champion Rafferty played the first five holes in five-under en route to a 5&3 win over Grange's Jake Whelan. "Absolutely delighted. This has been my dream since ever I joined this golf club, and for it to come true, it's absolutely unbelievable. Just thrilled. Thrilled.' Two up at the turn, Keane was just one up after 11 holes but after winning the 12th to go two up again, he lost the 15th and 16th. Pegged back to all square, there was a chance the dream could evaporate but after making a nerveless eight-footer for par at the 17th to remain all flat, he drilled a 240 yard five-iron to 50 feet at the 18th and two putted for birdie and victory as Rafferty failed to get up and down from short of the green. He dropped his putter and put his hands over his eyes in disbelief as his father, Johnny, and mother, Mary, ran onto the 18th green to envelop him in an emotional embrace. Chaired from the green by his supporters, he recalled afterwards how he was out of the game for nearly three years with a back injury. But thanks to medical attention from two Lahinch Golf Club members, doctors Gerry O'Sullivan and Conor O'Brien, and seven months of strength and conditioning work with former champion Robbie Cannon, he came back stronger than ever in 2023 before going on to achieve his dream. "I have to give credit to those three men there for helping me come back from that injury," he said as mentor Smyth gave him some final words of advice before he headed out to make the sweetest of victory speeches. It was also a special day for England's Lottie Woad, who closed with a four-under 68 to win the ISPS HANDA Scottish Women's Open and her first LPGA Tour title on her professional debut. 'Yeah, I think it's quite hard to do that, but very special to win in my first event,' said Woad, who romped to a six-shot win in the KPMG Women's Irish Open as an amateur last month. She won by three shots on 21 under from Korea's Hyo Joo Kim while Leona Maguire shot 71 to tie for 16th in six under heading into this week's AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl.
