McGinley leaps to defence of Shane Lowry after ‘very harsh' penalty for breaking rule ‘that needs a rethink' at The Open
The
Offaly
star
, 38,
2
Shane Lowry was hit with a two-shot penalty at The Open
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
2
Paul McGinley came to his fellow Irishman's defence
Credit: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
As he swung his club head through the long grass on a practice swing,
Neither
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.
Ex-Irish golfer Paul McGinley criticised the ruling on
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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.
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'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?
Shane Lowry's X-rated rant is caught on hot mic after poor shot at The Open
'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.'
'NOT VERY NICE'
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.'
It derailed what was looking to be a positive day for Lowry, who had gone bogey free through his first 10 holes.
A wayward tee shot on 11 infuriated
the Irishman
, who yelled "f*** this place", forcing
Sky
Sports to apologise to viewers at home.
It was in keeping with a mixed day for the Irish in Antrim, with both Padraig Harrington and Tom McKibbin missing the cut for the weekend.
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