Bryson DeChambeau carded a second-round 66 at the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, good enough for seven under par and a spot in the final group alongside halfway leader Lucas Herbert. Then the rules officials came calling.
DeChambeau was investigated over allegations that he improved his lie in thick grass on the fifth hole. He was seen being driven off in a buggy with officials and engaged in heated discussions while returning to the hole after completing his round. The Open leaderboard was temporarily updated to reflect a two-stroke penalty, though no official ruling had been announced at the time.
His expression walking back to the recorder’s hut did not suggest satisfaction with how the exchange went. On Sky Sports, Nick Dougherty reported: “We’re hearing there’s a fairly distraught Bryson DeChambeau down there. We have also heard some have been lip-reading and that Bryson mouthed that he might not even play tomorrow.”
DeChambeau declined to answer questions about whether he would play on Saturday or withdraw. Those fears appeared to ease when he left the recorder’s hut and went straight to the driving range.
Before the controversy, DeChambeau’s round had been the latest chapter in a redemptive week. After missing the cut in the season’s first three majors, he arrived at Royal Birkdale with something to prove. A birdie on the 18th — that rarest of creatures on the brutal par four — capped his 66 and put him one shot off the lead. A superb bump-and-run on the 17th had set up a tap-in birdie minutes earlier.
He was not the only one going low. Lucas Herbert fired a 62, missing a five-footer on the 18th that would have made him the first man to shoot 61 in a major. Within 15 minutes, Sam Burns holed out from a greenside bunker for another 62 — just the sixth in men’s major championship history. Burns sits tied for third with Jackson Suber at five under, with Cam Young one further back.
Tommy Fleetwood, the local favourite, reached four under alongside fellow Englishmen Alex Fitzpatrick and Matt Wallace, plus Scot Bob MacIntyre. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is also at four under despite putting that could charitably be described as woeful — his 68 could have been four shots better. Jon Rahm, also at four under, received an official warning for throwing his club on the 15th tee and was fortunate to avoid a penalty under the new code of conduct.
Rory McIlroy shot a 67 to reach one under, seven shots back.
As for DeChambeau, the situation remained unresolved. The leaderboard reflected a penalty. The man himself was on the range. Whether he tees off Saturday at seven under or five under — or at all — was still up in the air.
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