Shane Lowry involved in bizarre rules blunder at US Open

Shane Lowry miserable week at the US Open was compounded late in the second round when the Irishman was involved in a truly bizarre rules incident. 

Former Open champion Lowry, who held the 54-hole lead the last time the championship visited Oakmont in 2016, absent-mindedly picked up his ball on the green without marking it.

The incident was captured by television cameras and showed Lowry’s caddie Darren Reynolds looking on with incredulity as his man picked up his ball on the 14th hole.

The world No.12 appeared to almost immediately realise his mistake and called a penalty on himself.

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Fortunately, he managed to see the funny side of it, with he and playing partner Rory McIlroy spotted laughing it off.

The incident also had no material impact on Lowry’s title hopes as he was already well outside of the cut line at the time.

Commentating for Sky Sports, former Ryder Cup star Andrew Coltart was left to ask: “Has the heat got to him?”

“I’ve done that when there’s been preferred lies but not in an event when there’s no preferred lies. One day, there’s preferred lies and then the sun comes out, dries up the golf course and, the next day, they take the preferred lies off.

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“You’re walking down the fairway, you’ve got a million different thoughts in your head and whatever, and you pick the ball up – but I’ve never picked the ball up without marking it.”

Fellow former pro and commentator Rich Beem laughed: “That was classic. You play this game long enough you’re going to do something out of the blue. It’s a shock to the system but you’ve got to laugh it and just [say] ‘What am I thinking?’”

It was the second bizarre incident in as many days. Bryson DeChambeau did something very similar in Thursday’s opening round.

Watch Lowry’s blunder here…

Oakmont is taking its toll.

Shane Lowry forgot to mark his ball on the 14th green before picking it up. pic.twitter.com/KJDasXGheo

— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) June 13, 2025