SOUTHPORT, England — Bryson DeChambeau thought he had played his way into Saturday’s final group. He birdied 17. He birdied 18. He signed for a 66 that put him seven under par, one shot behind leader Lucas Herbert, who had just equaled the lowest round in major championship history with a 62.
Then the R&A sent him back outside.
Minutes after signing his card, DeChambeau was informed there were questions about how he had played the driveable par-4 fifth hole, which measures 321 yards. He had carved his tee shot wide right, over the pond, into deep rough. While stomping around the high grass trying to figure out how to play his second shot, officials concluded that DeChambeau had trampled down the grass in a way that improved his stance and affected the path of his swing.
R&A officials drove him back out to the spot of the alleged infringement while later groups were still finishing their rounds. According to Yahoo Sports, the 32-year-old stood there club in hand, animatedly demonstrating how he had played the shot, trying to show officials that he had not intentionally improved his lie. The discussion lasted several minutes before he was driven back to the recorders’ office.
The officials were not persuaded. They assessed a two-shot penalty under the rules governing improving the area of a player’s stance or swing. The 66 became a 68. DeChambeau dropped from second place, one shot off the lead, into a tie for fifth, three shots behind Herbert at eight under.
Two strokes is a blunt instrument. On a leaderboard as bunched as this one, it moved DeChambeau from the final pairing to the middle of a six-player cluster. It also turned a bogey on the fifth hole — the score he actually recorded — into a triple bogey, the difference between a round that vaults you into contention and one that merely keeps you in the conversation.
DeChambeau left the recorder’s area without speaking to the media and headed straight to the driving range. When his agent was asked whether DeChambeau would continue playing Saturday, the reply was: “We’ll see.”
Whether that was frustration talking or something more remains unclear. DeChambeau has history with rules disputes — he is among the game’s most scrutinized players, a two-time U.S. Open champion whose methodical, physics-driven approach to every shot invites both admiration and suspicion. The R&A’s ruling specified that the infraction was inadvertent, which is to say officials did not believe DeChambeau deliberately flattened the grass to gain an advantage. The penalty was assessed regardless.
Herbert’s 62 was matched roughly 20 minutes later by Sam Burns, whose own historic round pushed him to five under. The first-round leader, Jackson Suber, followed his opening 63 with a 69 to sit at six under, alongside Cameron Young (67) and Ryan Gerard (67). DeChambeau’s adjusted 68 left him at five under, level with Burns.
The Open’s rules officials have not shied from late-round interventions. What made this one unusual was the timing — DeChambeau had already signed his card and was preparing for what he believed would be a Saturday afternoon in the final group. Instead, he spent the early evening standing in the same patch of rough he had been trying to escape hours earlier, making his case to officials who had already made theirs.
He walked off the range without taking questions. The third round begins Saturday.
Sources:
- Yahoo Sports — DeChambeau taken back out onto Open course after rules controversy
- Yahoo Sports — Bryson DeChambeau penalized two shots following Round 2 at The Open