Ex-Ryder Cup captains plea after Shane Lowrys | Golf News

A former European Ryder Cup captain has urged golf’s rulemakers to rethink their rules after Shane Lowry was hit with a two-shot penalty at The Open Championship on Friday.

Lowry confronted punishment after he was discovered to have unintentionally brought on his ball to transfer while taking a apply swing on the twelfth gap at Royal Portrush. The Irishman’s ball landed in thick tough, and he was assessing the lie with a few apply swings.

However, close-up footage from the NBC broadcast appeared to show the ball rotating barely as the 38-year-old took one of his apply swings. Golfers are forbidden from inflicting their lie to change, even if it’s unintentional.

Lowry was notified on the fifteenth gap that an investigation was in progress, and he was dismayed by the consequence when talking to reporters.

McGinley acknowledged that guidelines are guidelines, but he felt that his fellow Irishman had been handled unfairly, urging the R&A to ponder making modifications.

“You can only see it with slow motion, slowing it down,” the 2014 Ryder Cup captain advised Sky Sports. “I watched that live, and I didn’t notice anything, and I’m sure Shane didn’t notice anything.

“Technically, it is the rule, and the R&A had to apply it because it was proved in gradual movement, but it is troublesome and it’s extremely harsh. It’s an outside sport, you have obtained long grass, you have obtained wind, you have obtained climate circumstances.

“There has got to be a little bit of leeway, but I understand what the R&A did. I’m not being critical of them, but I think the rule needs a little bit more leeway. But it’s such a fine line because if you give a little bit of leeway, somebody could take advantage too much. It’s a fine line.”

Lowry, who ended up with a one-over-par 71 after the penalty was utilized, talked about he did not discover the ball transfer as it occurred, and he questioned whether or not the proof was definitive.

“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,” he advised reporters. “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.”

McGinley argued that self-regulation among gamers must be a cornerstone of the sport. He commented: “It’s only moved a couple of millimeters, if that, and that was only proven using extra slow motion. I think it needs to be looked at.

“I’m all the time a believer in this recreation that we’re our own referees on the market, and the integrity of you as a competitor is de facto important, whether or not it is in the native golf membership at home or whether or not it is enjoying in The Open Championship.

“The onus should be on the player, and I think that is something great about our game. I want to keep going down that road. OK, there might be some people who take advantage of it, but I think the biggest thing is the spirit of the game.”