Shane Lowry has been assessed a two-shot penalty for his golf ball moving in the rough on the 12th hole of the British Open.

What caused Shane Lowrys two-shot penalty during the second round at The Open? Why was he punished at Royal Portrush and how has golf reacted? Key questions around one of the biggest storylines of the

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.

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 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.

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

Shane Lowry looks to have an excellent shot before his ball takes a brutal roll down the hill during Round 3 of The Open at Royal Portrush.

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.

Golf's final major of the year is upon us, as the best players in the world return to Northern Ireland's Royal Portrush for the 153rd playing of the Open Champi