SHANE LOWRY was embroiled in a major rules breach controversy during his second round at The Open.

And it came just after he furiously shouted “f*** this place” in a blazing rant on Friday evening.

Lowry, 38, had gone bogey-free for the first ten holes to get to -2.

But his wayward tee shot on 11 spooned left, causing him to yell out the expletive in anger.

Incredibly, it is the third different Major out of four this year where Lowry has used the X-rated phrase.

And commentator Ewan Murray said on Sky Sports Golf: “Sorry about the language slipping through there.”

Irishman Lowry – champion at Portrush in 2019 – bogeyed the hole.

Then on the very next hole, he found the rough when his tee shot drifted left on the par-5 12th hole.

Lowry headed over to his ball and tried to figure out how he could recover.

But as he swung his club head through the long grass on a practice swing, TV cameras appeared to show the ball move ever so slightly.

On the replay, it just seems to nudge backwards fractionally.

Lowry nor his caddie Darren Reynolds noticed the tiny motion at the time and therefore the world No18 did not call it on himself.

But the TV commentators and golf fans watching the action at home highlighted the incident.

One social media user said: “Did Shane Lowry’s ball move juuuuust a tad on that practice swing??”

Another wrote: “If they don’t stroke Lowry we’re going to have major major problems.”

A third asked: “Did anyone else see this? Saw it live. Looked like Lowry’s practice swing moved the ball. What do you all see?”

And a fourth added: “The ball clearly moved. This whole ‘did he see it’ or not issue should be irrelevant. He clearly caused the ball to move when he took the practice swing.”

When he made his actual shot, Lowry played into a bunker but still made par.

It is understood the R&A noted the incident and would review the video then speak to Lowry after his round – a one-under-par 70 to go to -2 – to determine any punishment.

But if found guilty, he could be slapped with a brutal two-stroke penalty.

Golf rules state: “If you take a practice swing and cause your ball to move, you still have not made a stroke, but you will get a one-stroke penalty for moving your ball in play.

“The ball must be replaced on its original spot. If the player instead plays the ball from where it was moved to after their practice swing, it becomes a two-stroke penalty.”

And at one stage that threatened to see him suffer the ultimate punishment of missing the cut.

Lowry’s X-rated outburst came 24 hours after Tommy Fleetwood’s own swearing blast.

Fleetwood was left fuming when his ball landed in a bunker that had not been raked.