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. “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. “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.” 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. “I woke up at 2:30 with cramps in my stomach,” he said of a virus that had already hit wife Wendy and then spread to Lowry and one of their two daughters. “It will be gone by the holidays next week. So at least that's a plus,” he said in a sarcastic tone.