Shaun Norris was strolling along on Sunday, in contention to win his third career European Tour event at the Nexo Championship at Trump International in Scotland. Then, on the fifth hole, golf’s rules jumped up and bit him.
A day after the R&A issued a two-stroke penalty to Bryson DeChambeau at the Open Championship for inadvertently improving the area of his swing path for his second shot on the fifth hole during the second round, R&A CEO Mark Darbon shed a little more light on how the penalty came to be in an interview with BBC Radio.
Joaquin Niemann became the first player in major championship history to receive a two-stroke penalty for throwing a club, then responded with rounds of 65 and 66 to nearly pull off an extraordinary comeback at the 2026 US Open.
Spain’s David Puig was not aware of what he did, but when shown a replay of the shot he agreed it was a violation and was assessed the penalty because he touched the sand while addressing the ball, violating rule 12.2b.
Cameras had a close-up view of Lowry’s ball in the rough as he took a practice swing at the 12th hole, and the ball visibly moved after his iron passed through the nearby grass.
Australian Golf Digest
