Back to news
Shane Lowry's Open torment gets worse as he's hit with vomiting bug hours after two-shot penalty
@Source: the42.ie
Advertisement
League of Ireland
Horse Racing
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture
Rugby Weekly Extra
Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week
The Football Family
Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points
Advertisement
More Stories
Shane Lowry.Alamy Stock Photo
Freethe trials of shane lowry
Shane Lowry's Open torment gets worse as he's hit with vomiting bug hours after two-shot penalty
Lowry struggled to a third-round 74 and revealed afterwards he was struck by illness.
4.52pm, 19 Jul 2025
Share options
Gavin Cooney
reports from Royal Portrush
SO SHANE, APART from the irritating questions about drinking from the American media, the stone-cold putter, the squalls of bone-drenching rain, the two-shot penalty and now the vomiting bug. . . how’s your Open Championship week been?
It was on Saturday at Portrush in 2019 that Lowry put together the greatest round of his career, a 63 during which he told his caddie they must enjoy the closing two holes and after which he clamped one hand on the Claret Jug.
But 313 Saturday afternoons later and the Golfing Gods have wreaked their vengeance on Shane Lowry. Their retribution may not be swift. . . but it will be brutal all the same.
On a day of benign conditions, Lowry was bumped miles down the leaderboard with a third-round card that ended with a 74 but did not adequately express his torture. The picture of him lying flat on his back on the ninth fairway as he and playing partner Jon Rahm waited for the green to clear was much more evocative.
Lowry awoke at 2.30am this morning with a stomach screaming sedition, realising it was his turn to contract a vomiting bug that had careened through his household all week.
Advertisement
A few hours earlier, the R&A had left him with another kind of sickening feeling, as they gave him a two-stroke, post-round penalty for unwitting moving his ball during a practice swing on the 12th hole. Lowry insisted he did not know his ball had moved: otherwise he would have replaced it. The impassive tournament organisers pinged him one shot for not replacing his ball and another shot for then playing it from the wrong position. It meant sliding back to even-par and an earlier start than expected, depriving him of a chance to watch some of the Lions’ Test against Australia.
But then he awoke even earlier than planned.
“I haven’t eaten today yet”, sighed Lowry in a press engagement that zapped the last of his diminished energy. “I tried to get a protein drink down me after eight holes, and I felt like throwing up all over the place. Yeah, it’s been a tough day, but I’m not going to make excuses. I played poorly today and obviously had a bad finish.
“I woke up at 2:30 with cramps in my stomach. I know we have it in the house. [Daughter] Ivy had it a couple of days ago, [wife] Wendy had it yesterday. Me and [daughter] Iris have it today.
“Honestly, every bathroom I went in and tried to throw up, I couldn’t. It’s just such a bad feeling. I think lack of energy towards the end maybe did me in. Look, I don’t want to make excuses. It is what it is.”
Lowry had to take a penalty drop on the second hole to make bogey at the first par-five of the day, and from there his putter refused to return any yield on investment, missing birdie looks on seven and eight before holing from 25 feet for par after his brief rest on nine. He found birdies on 10 and 13 before the round blew up, hooking left off the 14th tee on his way to a triple-bogey seven. Another bogey on seven put the tin hat on things.
“I felt like I ground it out really well to get to one-under for the day through 13", he said. “Then a bad shot on 14 and a little bit of a bad break as well.
“The annoying thing for me today is I didn’t get to enjoy today as much as I would have liked. Saturday at The Open in your home country: I should enjoy it a lot more than I did, just because of how I felt.”
He wasn’t in the mood to talk any more about last night’s penalty, though did say the reaction among his fellow players has been one of sympathy. If there’s an upside to all of this torment, then Sunday surely can’t be any worse.
Plus, there’s a silver lining to being hit with the virus midway through the Open.
“It will be gone by the holidays next week. So at least that’s a plus.”
Gavin Cooney
Viewcomments
Send Tip or Correction
Embed this post
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Email “Shane Lowry's Open torment gets worse as he's hit with vomiting bug hours after two-shot penalty ”.
Recipient's Email
Feedback on “Shane Lowry's Open torment gets worse as he's hit with vomiting bug hours after two-shot penalty ”.
Your Feedback
Your Email (optional)
Report a Comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment.
Please give full details of the problem with the comment...
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
before taking part.
Leave a Comment
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel.
Racism or Hate speech
An attack on an individual or group based on religion, race, gender, or beliefs.
Trolling or Off-topic
An attempt to derail the discussion.
Inappropriate language
Profanity, obscenity, vulgarity, or slurs.
Advertising, phishing, scamming, bots, or repetitive posts.
Please provide additional information
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
Leave a commentcancel
Access to the comments facility has been disabled for this user
View our policy
⚠️ Duplicate comment
Post Comment
have your say
Or create a free account to join the discussion
Shane Lowry
the open 2025
the trials of shane lowry
News in 60 seconds
Ireland U20s avoid last-placed finish at World Championship with late try against Spain
14 mins ago
Skelton and Valetini to return as Schmidt praises Wallabies' fight
FreeTransfer News
Barcelona pushing to complete signing of Man United’s Marcus Rashford
FreeAthletics
Rhasidat Adeleke finishes fourth in quality 200m field at London Diamond League
FreeIrish Oaks
Minnie Hauk makes it a Classic double with battling Curragh victory
FreePodcastRugby Weekly Extra
Australia 19-27 Lions: Post-match reaction pod
Freeimmense
Lions boss Farrell praises 'big-game players' Beirne and Curry
As it happened
Australia v British & Irish Lions, first Test
Transfer News
Liverpool target €80 million-rated French star
paying the penalty
'I can't have my name tossed around like that' - Lowry's Open challenge derailed by two-shot post-round penalty
Know your sport? Take our weekly quiz
more from us
Investigates
Daft.ie Property Magazine
Allianz Home Magazine
The 42 Sports Magazine
TG4 Entertainment Magazine
Money Diaries
The Journal TV
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
About FactCheck
Our Network
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
more from us
TV Listings
GAA Fixtures
The Video Review
Journal Media
Advertise With Us
Our Network
The Journal
FactCheck Knowledge Bank
Terms & Legal Notices
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
© 2025 Journal Media Ltd
Terms of Use
Cookies & Privacy
Advertising
Competition
Switch to Desktop
Switch to Mobile
The 42 supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and the Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at https://www.presscouncil.ie, PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1800 208 080 or email: mailto:info@presscouncil.ie
Report an error, omission or problem:
Your Email (optional)
Create Email Alert
Create an email alert based on the current article
Email Address
One email every morning
As soon as new articles come online
Sign in or create
a free account
To continue reading create a free account
Or sign into an existing account
Related News
16 Mar, 2025
How to Watch Philadelphia Union vs Nashv . . .
26 May, 2025
Real Madrid confirms Xabi Alonso is retu . . .
13 Jun, 2025
Rabid BTS fan tries to break into Jungko . . .
14 Mar, 2025
Tiger Woods, Vanessa Trump have been dat . . .
19 Jun, 2025
Réallon: The Ideal Family Destination in . . .
27 Jul, 2025
Hamza Igamane to Feyenoord 'leak' sparks . . .
04 May, 2025
DraftKings promo code offers guaranteed . . .
01 Apr, 2025
Ducks wrap up homestand against NHL-wors . . .