Bryson DeChambeau walked off Royal Portrush on Friday thinking he’d shot a 66, birdied his last two holes, and parked himself in the final group for the weekend at seven under par. Then the R&A handed him a sandwich nobody ordered.
Moments after signing his card, DeChambeau was pulled aside and informed there were issues with how he’d played the driveable par-four fifth. Officials had reviewed video and determined that after carving his drive wide right over the pond into thick rough, DeChambeau had trampled down high grass while taking his stance, giving himself a cleaner angle for his second shot. He was driven back out to the spot of the alleged infringement while later groups were still on the course, club in hand, trying to demonstrate how he’d actually played it.
Several minutes of animated discussion followed. The 32-year-old two-time U.S. Open champion was then driven back to the recorders’ office with what reporters described as a face like thunder.
“Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, his backswing, when he was playing his second shot,” said R&A executive director – governance Grant Moir.
The penalty turned DeChambeau’s bogey on the fifth into a seven. His 66 became a 68. His share of second became a share of fifth, three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert.
Moir explained that Rule 8.1 restricts what a player may do to improve conditions affecting the stroke, including the area of the intended swing. A player is allowed to fairly take their stance, Moir said, but must take the least intrusive course of action and is not entitled to a normal stance or swing. He stressed that the rule applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in DeChambeau’s case.
DeChambeau walked past waiting media — to whom he had refused to speak in his previous five major rounds — and headed straight for the practice ground. “I’m going to hit some balls,” was all he said. He spent nearly 40 minutes on the range at 9:40 p.m., lit only by the giant TV screen, and left at 10:29 p.m.
While DeChambeau stewed, the leaderboard kept moving without him. Australian Lucas Herbert fired a 62, equaling the lowest round ever recorded in a major championship. About 20 minutes later, American Sam Burns matched it. Herbert led by two over first-round leader Jackson Suber (69), Cameron Young (67), and Ryan Gerard (67).
DeChambeau’s penalty wasn’t the only disciplinary matter of the day. Jon Rahm, who shot a 67 to reach four under, received an official warning under The Open’s serious misconduct policy for throwing a club after his tee shot on the 15th hole.
DeChambeau entered the weekend five under, tied for fifth, three back. The range session ran past 10:30 at night. Whatever he was working on, he was working on it alone.
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