British Open 2024: Leader Shane Lowry gets off rails at 11 with lengthy, crazy double

Royal Troon’s par-4 eleventh gap, nicknamed “The Railway,” has traditionally been one of the tough holes within the Open Championship rota.

Shane Lowry can now attest.

Lowry’s second spherical, maybe fittingly, obtained off the rails at No. 11 on Friday as Lowry noticed his two-shot lead evaporate after a protracted and loopy sequence that concerned a cameraman, a yanked shot into the gorse, a provisional that was later negated and in the end, a double bogey.

Right here’s the way it all unfolded: Lowry’s tee ball discovered the best fescue, and although it appeared that Lowry had an honest likelihood to muscle his second shot the 177 yards to the outlet, his shot produced a big chunk of grass and a ball capturing out low and left and proper into the left gorse.

Lowry was instantly fuming, shouting at a cameraman who apparently distracted the chief.

“As I used to be over the ball, I may simply see you with the f—ing digicam up!” Lowry informed the cameraman. “Simply get again there! F—’s sake!”

Lowry defined afterward: “I did a pleasant lie within the tough. I obtained slightly bit distracted on the best simply as I used to be over the shot, and I form of misplaced a little bit of practice of thought. You’re so afraid of going proper there that I simply snagged the membership and went left.”

Together with his ball doubtless misplaced, Lowry reloaded and declared a provisional. That shot, his fourth on the time, ran up onto the inexperienced and about 20 ft previous the outlet. Nevertheless, quickly after a spectator discovered Lowry’s unique ball within the prickly stuff.

“He would’ve most popular to not have discovered that ball,” NBC Sports activities analyst Paul McGinley mentioned.

What ensued was a prolonged course of that included Lowry calling in a second guidelines official and even strolling way back to the adjoining twelfth fairway as he sized up the place he’d need to take his unplayable drop.

“You’ll be able to declare a ball misplaced, however when it’s really discovered, it’s the ball in play,” R&A guidelines official Charlie Maran mentioned. “The provisional ball that he did play now turns into a improper ball. So, he has to take his choices together with his unique ball.”

Lastly, after over 20 minutes since he hit his second shot, Lowry dropped and hit his new fourth shot. From about 70 yards, Lowry got here up simply in need of the inexperienced. He then obtained up and down for a roundabout double to drop again to five underneath and right into a tie with Daniel Brown.

“I felt like by way of that entire technique of that 20 minutes … I felt like I used to be very calm and composed and actually knew that I used to be doing the best factor,” Lowry mentioned. “It wasn’t a catastrophe. I used to be nonetheless main the event.”