Shane Lowry’s frustration boiled over Friday at the PGA Championship when a mud ball situation cost him dearly at Quail Hollow’s eighth hole. The incident highlighted the exact scenario Scottie Scheffler had criticized just a day earlier.
Scheffler had voiced concerns Thursday about playing the ball down, noting how unfair it is when players hit perfect drives only to be penalized by mud accumulation.
Lowry experienced this firsthand in brutal fashion. His tee shot on the par-4 eighth found the fairway but settled into someone else’s pitch mark. Since it wasn’t his own mark and the tournament is playing the ball as it lies, Lowry had to play it without cleaning or moving it.
The results were disastrous. His attempt to escape the mud-caked lie traveled just 90 feet, landing in a greenside bunker. Lowry’s immediate reaction told the story – he slammed his wedge into the offending divot, tearing up a massive chunk of turf.
After his par putt came up short, Lowry flipped the bird – seemingly directed at his ball, the hole, or perhaps the entire concept of golf in that moment.
The bogey dropped him to 2 over par for the tournament, which is where he finished – one agonizing stroke outside the cut line.
What makes this situation particularly frustrating is how preventable it was. Had officials implemented preferred lies (lift, clean and place), Lowry could have cleaned his ball and likely saved his tournament. Instead, he’s heading home early because of a rules decision that many players, including world No. 1 Scheffler, believe unfairly punishes good shots.
