Potential Ryder Cup star Shane Lowry is staring at a double $5,000 fine on the back of his expletive during Sunday’s final round at the Honda Classic in Florida.
The Irishman could be clearly uttering ‘You F****** Idoit’ after putting a ball into the water on the 15th hole, and the start of the famed ‘Bear Trap’ at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.
Now a PGA Tour official said Lowry, and the reigning WGC – Bridgestone Invitational champion, is facing a second fine for his Twitter remark he posted late Sunday night (US time).
Lowry tweeted: “So I said a bad word …. Shoot me!”
By late afternoon Monday (US time), the tweet had been retweeted 530 times by Lowry’s 92,000 followers.
So I said a bad word…. Shoot me!
— Shane Lowry (@ShaneLowryGolf) February 28, 2016
While it’s Lowry’s first fine on the PGA Tour, the bearded Dubliner has come unstuck for being caught swearing on course during European Tour events.
But unlike the European Tour, the PGA Tour will never make public the size of fines only that any fines incurred go to charity.
However it’s a standard joke on the PGA Tour that Tiger Woods used to sign a blank cheque at the start of each new season to cover any on-course verbal outbursts.
And joining Lowry in Thursday’s starting WGC – Cadillac Championship is fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy who was fined at Trump Doral for hurling a club into a water hazard on the ‘Blue Monster’ course.
Donald Trump, the tournament host and resort owner, arranged for a diver to retrieve the 3-iron McIlroy had hurled into water down the 18th on day two of the event.
While McIlroy won praise for the throw, he also was heavily out-of-pocket for his actions.
And as promised, Trump has had the club mounted along with a letter from McIlroy, on a back wall in the plush-looking Golf Shop at Trump Doral.
McIlroy thanked Trump for hosting the event and signed off saying: “and thank you for the salvage operation on my 3 iron”.
