A US Open oops for Lowry, who gets a penalty after picking up his ball but forgetting to mark

By Canadian Press on June 13, 2025.

OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Shane Lowry was penalized a stroke Friday at the U.S. Open after he accidentally picked up his ball on the 14th green without marking it.

If nothing else, it gave Lowry something to laugh about during an otherwise miserable round. The penalty shot gave him a double bogey on the hole and brought his score for the tournament to 16-over par with four holes left.

The cut line was hovering at 6 over. Lowry, who played in the final group the last time the U.S. Open was at Oakmont in 2016, was set to miss the cut in his second straight major after tying for 42nd at the Masters.

The Rules of Golf say if a player picks up a ball on the green without marking it, he can replace it at the original spot with a penalty of one stroke. After realizing what he’d done, he and his playing partners, Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, laughed, then Lowry asked a rules official what to do?

“Just put it back where it was?” he said.

He did, then barely missed a 55-footer that would have been for bogey, including the penalty.

___

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Associated Press

12
-11