Latest news with #rulesofficial
France 24
18-07-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Lowry accepted 2-shot British Open penalty over fear of 'cheat' backlash
The Irishman was handed the sanction after he finished his second round, which left him at level par for the tournament, for his ball apparently moving as he made a practice swing on the 12th hole. Rules officials relied on television evidence from one angle that zoomed in on the ball, even if Lowry could not see it with the naked eye. "I was in there with the rules official and wasn't arguing my case, but I'm disappointed that they don't have more camera angles on it," said Lowry, who is back at the scene of his sole major win at Royal Portrush back in 2019. "The one zoomed in slow motion -- they're trying to tell 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. "I'm still not sure, to be honest, whether it was or not, but I had to take the penalty because I can't have my name talked about or tossed around like that, and I just get on with it." The footage had been highlighted on social media before Lowry was handed the penalty. "If the ball moved and I caused it to move and it moved, it's a two-shot penalty," added the world number 18. "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." Lowry was playing alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler, who shot to the top of the leaderboard with a brilliant 64 to sit at 10 under par after the opening two days. Scheffler hailed Lowry's reaction after the American was also left unconvinced by the television replay. "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," said the three-time major champion. "It was a very tough spot for Shane to be put in. He handled it really well. It's obviously very frustrating. It's 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. "I'm not going to state a strong opinion here in the media on whether or not I thought he deserved the penalty, but all I'm going to say is it was a very tough situation for him to be put in, and I thought he handled it really well."
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘Still not sure': Shane Lowry casts doubt over two-shot penalty decision at Open
Shane Lowry said he was conscious of his reputation after accepting a two-stroke penalty for a rules infringement during the second round of the Open. Lowry was adamant he did not see his ball roll backwards in rough at the 12th hole during a practice swing, with officials determining he was in breach of the rules of golf. Lowry was informed of a potential issue on the 15th before detailed discussion after he closed out on the 18th green. Lowry's 70 became a 72, leaving him 10 adrift of the tournament leader, Scottie Scheffler, with his score on the 12th changed from five to seven. 'I was in there with the rules official and wasn't arguing my case but I'm disappointed that they don't have more camera angles on it,' Lowry said. 'The one zoomed in slow motion … they're trying to tell 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. I'm still not sure, to be honest, whether it was or not, but I had to take the penalty because I can't have my name talked about or tossed around like that and I just get on with it. It's obviously very disappointing. I felt like I played really, really well today. That's hard to take.' Of the post-round scene, Lowry said: 'I think they had their decision made. If the ball moved and I caused it to move and it moved, it's a two-shot penalty. 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. If the ball moved, I would have called it on myself. My head was definitely looking down at the ball and I didn't see it moving. But I'm out there signing for a 72 there now.'
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
U.S. Open: Sam Burns on the wrong end of a questionable ruling
When Sam Burns stood over his tee shot on the 15th hole in the final round of the U.S. Open, he was in a tie for the lead. When he walked off the green, he was two shots back and essentially out of contention. What transpired in between is a questionable ruling that very much led to the double bogey Burns carded on the hole. Advertisement Just past the midway point of Sunday's final round, rain began pelting Oakmont Country Club. Play was halted for nearly two hours as Oakmont truly became Soakmont. Puddles formed, on greens and in fairways. Grounds crew tried to squeegee the course, but they could only do so much. Burns' tee shot on 15 landed in a shallow swell on the left edge of the fairway, the kind of place where water goes to settle. As Burns took his practice swings, he could see water shooting up with every swipe of the grass. It was wet, so Burns called over a rules official to ask for relief from standing water. Per Rule 16.1, free relief "is allowed from interference by animal holes, ground under repair, immovable obstructions or temporary water." Temporary water is defined as "any temporary accumulation of water on the surface of the ground (such as puddles from rain or irrigation or an overflow from a body of water) that is not in a penalty area, and can be seen before or after you take a stance (without pressing down excessively with your feet). "It is not enough for the ground to be merely wet, muddy or soft or for the water to be momentarily visible as you step on the ground; an accumulation of water must remain present either before or after your stance is taken." Advertisement Burns believed where his ball sat qualified as "temporary water." The rules official inspected the area and did not agree. Sam Burns talks with a rules official on the 16th hole during the final round of the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. (Photo by) (Andy Lyons via Getty Images) Wanting a second opinion, Burns asked for another ruling. The appeal was denied. So Burns had to hit from where it lie, and this happened: Was it wet where his ball was? You be the judge: From there, things only got worse. His third shot stayed in the rough. One chip and two putts later, he was in with a double bogey. And that was the end of his run at a first major title. "When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. Took practice swings and it's just water splashing every single time," Burns explained after. "Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed. At the end of the day, it's not up to me, it's up to the rules official. That's kind of that." Advertisement Credit Burns for not making a thing of it. He'd bogey 16, birdie 17, then bogey 18 to finish +4, in a tie for seventh. "Yeah, look, I went out there and gave it the best I had," he said. "Golf's a hard game, especially on this golf course. At the end of the day, I can hold my heed high."
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
U.S. Open: Sam Burns on the wrong end of a questionable ruling
Sam Burns talks with a rules official on the 16th hole during the final round of the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club. (Photo by) When Sam Burns stood over his tee shot on the 15th hole in the final round of the U.S. Open, he was in a tie for the lead. When he walked off the green, he was two shots back and essentially out of contention. What transpired in between is a questionable ruling that very much led to the double bogey Burns carded on the hole. Advertisement Just past the midway point of Sunday's final round, rain began pelting Oakmont Country Club. Play was halted for nearly two hours as Oakmont truly became Soakmont. Puddles formed, on greens and in fairways. Grounds crew tried to squeegee the course, but they could only do so much. Burns' tee shot on 15 landed in a shallow swell on the left edge of the fairway, the kind of place where water goes to settle. As Burns took his practice swings, he could see water shooting up with every swipe of the grass. It was wet, so Burns called over a rules official to ask for relief from standing water. He wasn't given it. Wanting a second opinion, Burns asked for another ruling. The appeal was denied. So Burns had to hit from where it lie, and this happened: Was it wet where his ball was? You be the judge: From there, things only got worse. His third shot stayed in the rough. One chip and two putts later, he was in with a double bogey. And that was the end of his run at a first major title. Advertisement "When I walked into it, clearly you could see water coming up. Took practice swings and it's just water splashing every single time," Burns explained after. "Called a rules official over, they disagreed. I looked at it again. I thought maybe I should get a second opinion. That rules official also disagreed. At the end of the day, it's not up to me, it's up to the rules official. That's kind of that." Credit Burns for not making a thing of it. He'd bogey 16, birdie 17, then bogey 18 to finish +4, in a tie for seventh. "Yeah, look, I went out there and gave it the best I had," he said. "Golf's a hard game, especially on this golf course. At the end of the day, I can hold my heed high."
