Irish Open champion Shane Lowry has come in for heavy criticism online after he was heard making a baffling remark about spectators during the third round of the competition.

The incident happened on the par-four 18th at at Trump International Doonbeg on Saturday, as Lowry closed out another superb round on his way to victory.

After the home favourite hooked his tee shot, his caddie Dermot Byrne shouted a warning of ‘Fore!’ towards a group of volunteers and spectators standing in the left rough.

Moments later, in footage shared by Balls.ie on X, Lowry could be heard saying: ‘They deserve to get hit.’

The comment quickly spread on social media, where a section of golf fans rounded on the 39-year-old, particularly as those in the firing line appeared to be standing behind the ropes where they were meant to be.

‘This is scandalous from Shane Lowry,’ one user wrote on X. ‘Should be heavily fined for this comment.’ Another said an apology was in order, writing that ‘the fans deserve an apology’.

Others leapt to his defence, pointing to the pressure of leading his national open and a chaotic day at Doonbeg.

Play had been delayed on Saturday afternoon as US President Donald Trump arrived by helicopter to watch some of the action at the course that bears his name.

‘Lowry is one of the nicest, most down to earth guys,’ one supporter wrote. ‘He’s obviously under huge pressure here and hasn’t patience for silly behaviour.’ Another put the remark down to ‘a burst of frustration’ after a stop-start round.

Lowry has not addressed the comment publicly. Speaking after his round, he stuck to the golf, emphasising how important a win for him would be.

‘It’s a big day for me tomorrow. I’m going out leading my home tournament and it would mean to the world to me to knock this one off,’ he told RTÉ Sport before his eventual victory.

‘I’m going to have to put my head down, get back to work whenever my tee time is tomorrow and give it a run.’