Shane Lowry was given a two-stroke penalty after the second round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club on Friday. Lowry was determined to have caused his ball to move while taking a practice swing in the rough ahead of his second shot on the par-5 12th hole.

Shane Lowry says he would like the Open to return to Royal Portrush "next year" after an "incredible" week of support.

Shane Lowry unleashing F-bomb rants during golf tournaments is certainly nothing new. He did it at this year's PGA Championship. He did it at last year's British Open. He, well, you get the point. But what happened on Friday was still a bit shocking from the Irishman.

Shane Lowrys hopes of another major victory at Royal Portrush suffered a significant setback after he was handed a two-shot penalty at the end of his second round at The Open.

A mural of Shane Lowry holding aloft the claret jug adorns the side wall of a house just across the road from Royal Portrush.

Shane Lowry was assessed a two-stroke penalty after the second round of the 153rd British Open for causing his ball to move at Royal Portrush Golf Club while making a practice swing.

The most stinging thing that can happen to a golfer, especially in the heat of a major, is a penalty that rewrites their scorecard. On Friday at Royal Portrush, Shane Lowry felt that sting in full force.

Shane Lowry won the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, but is not having as good of a time in 2025.

Cheering him on will be his wife, Wendy Lowry, and their daughters, Iris and Ivy. “There were plenty of times I have been crying myself to sleep or wondering am I able to keep going but when you have a good strong woman behind you it makes it easier,” Shawn said in 2019, per the Irish Independent. “I owe a lot to her.”

If we have any quarrel with the mural, it's that Lowry stands alone. Portrush proper is home to barely 6,000 souls, yet the R&A expects over a quarter-million pilgrims this week. The mathematics should spell chaos, but when an entire community vibrates at the same frequency—when everyone wants to be here—logistics become footnotes. It just works.

Fans on social media went nuts when replays showed Shane Lowry's ball moved a fraction of an inch during a practice shot on the 12th hole.