Shane Lowry won The Open the last time it was at Royal Portrush, but a controversy over his ball moving on a practice swing might make his return for the 2025 British Open one to forget.

The Open leader Scottie Scheffler sympathised with Shane Lowry after the Irishman was slapped with a two-stroke penalty after his second round on Friday. "Ultimately, in golf it's up to the player, and I felt like Shane was put in a pretty tough situation there when they were zooming in on his golf ball," Scheffler said.