Latest news with #TheR&A
Scotsman
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
'No-win situation' - Jon Rahm calls for change to Shane Lowry penalty rule in The Open
Irishman accepted penalty as he didn't want to be labelled a 'cheat' on social media Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Jon Rahm has called for the rule that cost Shane Lowry a two-shot penalty and effectively killed off his hopes of being crowned as Open champion for a second time to be changed by golf's governing bodies. The Irishman was hit with the punishment at the end of the second round after TV pictures picked up his ball moving as he prepared to play a shot at the 12th. Admitting he'd accepted the penalty as he didn't want to be labelled a 'cheat' on social media, an adjusted 72 left the 2019 winner here ten off the hallway lead. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'You're in a no-win situation,' opined Jon Rahm after playing with Ryder Cup team-mate Lowry in the third round at Royal Portrush. Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry and Jon Rahm shake hands after finishing their round at Royal Portrush |'If you say I didn't see it therefore I don't think it should be a penalty, even though the rule says it should be visible to the naked eye, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. And, if you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty.' In a statement, The R&A said the penalty had been implemented due to it being 'clear' that the ball had moved immediately after Lowry's club touched foliage close to the ball after making a practice swing and causing the ball to move. 'It's a tough spot to be in,' added Rahm. 'If the rule says visible to the naked eye, we need to uphold that more than anything else. Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If it hadn't been bad enough for Lowry, his return to the County Antrim coast got worse when he got back to where he is staying this week on Friday night.
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Why Shane Lowry was handed two-shot penalty at The Open 2025
Shane Lowry was handed a two-stroke penalty at The Open 2025 following a review after his second round. The R&A determined the former Open champion warranted a penalty after his ball moved after taking a practice swing on the 12th hole in his second round at Royal Portrush. Lowry had driven his tee shot into the rough and could be seen taking a practice swing with footage bringing into question whether the ball moved slightly. The R&A informed Lowry on the 15th hole that he would be required to sit down and review the video footage with them after he concluded his round and a statement has now been released to explain the process. '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? '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?' The result of assessing the slo-motion replays was a two-stroke penalty for the Irishman, who dropped to level par for the tournament. Lowry had posted a second consecutive round of one-under par having played through a downpour of rain on the back and admitted he didn't know anything about the potential penalty until the officials spoke to him on the 15th. 'Well, I didn't know anything happened until walking up the 15th fairway and then the rules official came over and told me that there was a possibility the ball moved on the 12th for my second shot,' Lowry revealed after his round. 'I've asked him, how many shot penalty is that if it did, and he said, two. Obviously then I feel like I'm on the cut mark then, which is not very nice. I feel like I played well on the way in and then obviously waited to see. '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. 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 whether it was or not, but I had to take the penalty and I just get on with it. 'It's obviously very disappointing. I felt like I played really, really well today. And yeah, that's hard to take. Look, I'll just have to dust myself off and get out there tomorrow and give it a go.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Shane Lowry handed two-shot penalty following review after second round at The Open 2025
Shane Lowry has been handed a two-stroke penalty at The Open 2025 following a review after his second round. The R&A determined the former Open champion deserved a penalty after his ball moved before taking a shot on the 12th hole at Royal Portrush. Lowry had driven his tee shot into the rough and could be seen taking a practice swing with some fans questioning whether the ball moved slightly. The R&A informed Lowry on the 15th hole that he would be required to sit down and review the video footage with them after he concluded his round. The result of assessing the slo-motion replays was a two-stroke penalty for the Irishman who drops to level par for the tournament. Lowry had posted a second consecutive round of one-under par having played through a downpour of rain on the back and admitted he didn't know anything about the potential penalty until the officials spoke to him on the 15th. 'Well, I didn't know anything happened until walking up the 15th fairway and then the rules official came over and told me that there was a possibility the ball moved on the 12th for my second shot,' Lowry revealed after his round. 'I've asked him, how many shot penalty is that if it did, and he said, two. Obviously then I feel like I'm on the cut mark then, which is not very nice. I feel like I played well on the way in and then obviously waited to see. '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. 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 whether it was or not, but I had to take the penalty and I just get on with it. 'It's obviously very disappointing. I felt like I played really, really well today. And yeah, that's hard to take. Look, I'll just have to dust myself off and get out there tomorrow and give it a go.'
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Turnberry talk, Guinness-fuelling Hatton and Bradley boost - takeaways from The Open
Martin Dempster reports from Royal Portrush with some snippets from day two of The Open Sign up to our Golf newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Our golf correspondent reports from the media centre and also digs out some stories behind the scenes at Royal Portrush. Trump Turnberry talked up by US President's pal Bryson DeChambeau, a big buddy of Donald Trump, is desperate to see The Open back at Turnberry, one of the two golf venues in Scotland owned by the US President. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bryson DeChambeau acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green during day two of The 153rd Open Championship |DeChambeau appeared on the stage at Trump's inauguration in Washington earlier this year and recently paid a visit to the White House, where he was pictured playing chip shots on the lawn. 'It's one of the best golf courses in the world, and I'd love for it to be a part of the rotation,' said DeChambeau of Turnberry, where the Claret Jug event was last held in 2009. 'Albeit I haven't played it, I've heard so many great things about it. I think it's worthy of it for sure.' Trump turned the 2015 Women's Open into a circus by turning up at the Ayrshire venue but DeChambeau, who opened with a 78 at Portrush before storming back with a 65, insisted of The Open being held there again under his ownership: 'He'd respect The R&A and what they're trying to accomplish.' Tyrrell Hatton pictured during day two of The 153rd Open Championship |Guinness fuelling Tyrrell Hatton's title bid Tyrrell Hatton is being fuelled by the 'Black Stuff' as the three-time Alfred Dunhill Links winner bids to land an even bigger seaside success. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Normally a Guinness is a pretty good way to start. Certainly this week anyway,' said the Englishman in reply to being asked how he unwinds after a round. 'I think three is the magic number,' he added of the optimal level during a tournament. 'Yeah, two to three because you're definitely not close to a hangover and hopefully I've got a late tee time tomorrow so I can have a lie-in, as well.' US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley ended a run of five successive missed cuts in The Open |Open cut misery ends for Keegan Bradley - but Scottish Open record is worse! US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley is teeing up in The Open at the weekend for the first time since 2018 after ending a miserable run of five successive missed cuts. 'Just playing a lot better,' said the American of his welcome change of fortune in the Claret Jug event, having followed a first-day 72 with a 67 to sit on three under at the halfway stage. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bradley, who is looking more and more likely to be a playing captain at Bethpage Black in September, said he'd 'struggled on slower greens' on his recent visits across the Atlantic for the game's oldest major. It was suggested that he could have used the Genesis Scottish Open last week to get used to links putting surfaces. 'You should see my record at the Scottish Open - it's worse than this one!' he replied to that. Cameron Adams pictured at Royal Portrush with caddie Sam Chien, who was his assistant coach at Northwestern University | Tom Russo | The Scotsman No amateur dramatics for Scots this time Cameron Adam and Connor Graham both missed out on the chance to keep the Silver Medal for leading amateur in Scottish hands after Calum Scott's success at Royal Troon 12 months ago. On the back of making three birdies in a row on the front nine, Royal Burgess left-hander Adam was on course to make the cut before dropping three shots in the last five holes, including the 17th and 18th, to miss out by one. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Ultimately, just a couple of poor swings on the last couple holes,' he said. 'But it's a big positive to turn up here and not have my A game and come this close to making the cut.'
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
The Open Championship star who's won £26million speaks out about how he spends his money
Viktor Hovland's challenge for a first major victory at The Open certainly isn't financially motivated, as evidenced by his flashiest purchases, which had the Royal Portrush crowd chuckling Viktor Hovland showed his down-to-earth nature as he explained how he spends his golf earnings. The world No. 11 is yet to win a major, a surprising record which he's attempting to rectify at The Open this week. But Hovland, 27, has still reaped the financial rewards since turning pro in 2019. He's banked £26,544,888 ($35,674,298) from the PGA Tour alone, placing him 47th on their all-time money list. While it could be easy to let that sum go to his head, the Norwegian doesn't splash the cash on extravagant purchases. In fact, he had the crowd at Royal Portrush chuckling as he named some of his biggest buys on stage for The R&A's Caddie Conversations. Asked to reveal his first significant purchase after a win, Hovland replied: "I haven't spent that much money on just fun things. Like a couple of weeks ago, for example, I was on a boys' trip in Marbella, so I can try to spend money on things that are fun, like activities. "But in terms of things, there's not that many things to buy. I bought a nice grill to grill some steak. And I bought a Ninja blender, it cuts it up pretty nicely. So just things like that." While many of his counterparts have jumped ship to LIV Golf to cash in on the Saudi riches on offer there, Hovland isn't motivated by money. After winning the FedEx Cup in 2023, which came with a staggering £14.4m ($18m) pay cheque that's on top of his PGA winnings, he insisted he'd be perfectly happy with just enough to live a comfortable life. "Obviously, it's a lot of cash you're playing for. I mean, it's in the back of your mind," he admitted. "But I live in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Money goes long ways there. It's not like I'm spending money out the wazoo every week. "I don't need a lot to be happy. I don't need a lot to live within my means. So obviously it's nice for my family to have that protection and my, you know, eventual kids, that I'll have in the future. "It's nice to have that, but it's not something that drives me, it's not something that gives me meaning. I find meaning in other places. But obviously with how society works, money is something you need." Hovland's total career earnings are closer to the £50m mark, and winning The Open would secure him another £2.3m. But more important for him would be getting the proverbial monkey off his back by ending his wait for a major. He's secured top 10 finishes in all four of golf's top tournaments, coming closest to victory at the 2023 PGA Championship when he finished two shots behind winner Brooks Koepka in a tie for second with Scottie Scheffler. He ended an 18-month winless run at the Valspar Championship in March. But he found himself down the leaderboard at Portrush after an opening round of two over par, despite an eagle at the second.
