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After accepting a two-stroke penalty during the second round of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush, Shane Lowry said he would not be called a “cheat.”

The Irishman, who won the Claret Jug at Portrush in 2019, was found to be moving during a swing on the 12th hole during a practice session.

Lowry claimed he could not see the ball moving and was disappointed that the decision was made based solely on camera footage.

Lowry, an Irishman, shot a two-under par round but was informed of the penalty while playing the 15th hole.

Lowry is tied for 17th with his fellow player for 34th after one shot above the cut line.

Lowry, 38, claimed he was not “arguing” his case with the rules official and that he would have taken the penalty if he had moved the ball.

The world number 18 reportedly said, “The last thing I want to do is sit there and argue and not suffer the consequences, and then get slaughtered all over social media tonight for being a cheat.”

“I’m disappointed that there aren’t any more camera angles on it. The one that was zooming in slow motion is trying to explain to me that if it doesn’t move with just one eye, it won’t move if you don’t see it moving.

As I was practicing that swing, I explained to them that I was definitely looking down at the ball without noticing.

With his penalty, Lowry is now 10 shots clear of Scottie Scheffler, who also has a playing role.

According to Scheffler, Lowry was put in “a pretty tough situation,” but that the player’s fate is ultimately in golf.

It’s difficult to tell in the rough. The world number one said, “It appeared very difficult to tell if the ball was moving from what I looked at very briefly on the video.”

Shane was placed in a very difficult position because of it. He did it really well. It’s undoubtedly very frustrating.

Scheffler continued, “It was a very difficult situation for him to be put in,” while declining to comment on whether he thought Lowry should be punished.

Sean Longstaff, a midfielder from Newcastle, has been signed by Leeds United for £12 million plus potential extensions.

The 27-year-old has a four-year contract with St James’ Park after a year of service.

After playing for the club for 18 years, the move puts an end to an 18-year association with Newcastle.

According to Longstaff, “I think from the moment I spoke to Leeds, I knew they were really interested in me.”

I knew it would take a lot for me to leave Newcastle, but I also knew it had to be somewhere else, so I knew this was the one.

“Every time I played at Leeds, the atmosphere was amazing, and it was always bouncing and difficult to play,” said one player. “I’m just looking forward to having that on my side rather than having to play against.”

He made 214 senior appearances for the Magpies, but Eddie Howe’s side only played 787 Premier League minutes, mostly as a substitute.

Longstaff also appeared in five Carabao Cup games last year, but he didn’t start for Newcastle when they lost to Liverpool 2-1 in the final to claim their first domestic trophy in 70 years.

Leeds and the English midfielder had already reached personal agreements, but Newcastle rejected a £10 million offer earlier this week.

Following the signings of German forward Lukas Nmecha, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Jaka Bijol, and Gabriel Gudmundsson, Longstaff is Leeds’ fifth signing this summer.

On August 18, Daniel Farke’s side travels to Everton to begin their Premier League campaign.

Longstaff, who was born in North Shields and was born in North Shields, made his debut for the Magpies in 2018 after initially working on-loan at Kilmarnock and Blackpool.

He briefly surfaced as a transfer target for Manchester United after his first Premier League season, but the Red Devils balked at the reported £50m asking price.

Newcastle won the Champions League game against Paris St-Germain in 2023 with the help of Longstaff, who scored 16 goals.

He started consistently in 2022 and 2023-24, but he lost last year.

Longstaff only played eight Premier League games after Christmas, with Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali, and Joelinton all well established as midfielders.

At the 2025 Jumping European Championships in Spain, Great Britain took home a silver medal in the team competition.

Since finishing third in 2019, GB has the first time appearing on the podium at the annual event, which takes place every two years.

After Thursday’s first round, Ben Maher, Matthew Sampson, Donald Whitaker, and Scott Brash took the top spot, with Germany and Belgium holding the other podium spots.

However, Belgium only managed one fault in round two while GB and Germany both picked up four more.

Belgium, which won gold, came in third with an overall score of 5.61, followed by Germany, who came in third with 8.19, and Britain, who came in second with a score of 7.96. Ireland placed third overall, with 12.39 coming in fourth.

Belgium has won the championship in Rotterdam twice in the past, and this is their second consecutive victory.