Irish golfer Shane Lowry said he feared being “slaughtered” on social media if he did not accept the two-stroke penalty he received at The Open Championship on Friday.

The 38-year-old triumphed the last time the major was hosted at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland but saw his hopes of repeating that 2019 success dented by an incident during the 12th hole of his second round.

The R&A – the body which organizes the tournament – deemed Lowry’s ball to have moved after his club touched nearby foliage during a practice swing for his second shot from the rough on the par-five hole, with broadcast cameras capturing the moment.

After a lengthy review of roughly 20 minutes, the world No. 18’s ball was judged to have moved in a “clear” manner discernible to the naked eye, the R&A said in a statement. That incurred a one shot penalty, with another stroke docked for the ball subsequently being played from the wrong place.

Lowry, whose overall score jumped from two-under to even-par as a result, said he would have called the penalty on himself had he seen the ball move, adding that he was “disappointed” there were not more camera angles of the incident, specifically a full-length shot of him.