SOUTHPORT, England — The 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale has produced a leaderboard worth examining and a sideshow impossible to ignore. Sam Burns holds a two-shot lead at 10 under after consecutive rounds of 62 and 65 — a 127 total that ranks as the lowest across back-to-back rounds in any men’s major championship. Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim sit at 8 under. Bryson DeChambeau is tied for sixth at 6 under, four shots back, and the only player inside the top 10 who has won a major.
That last datum should make him the most dangerous chaser on the board. Instead, DeChambeau has spent the week generating more noise off the course than on it.
During Friday’s second round, R&A rules officials assessed DeChambeau a two-stroke penalty for trampling grass behind his ball in the rough on the fifth hole, determining he had improved his backswing path. The R&A described the breach as “accidental.” DeChambeau requested to return to the fifth hole to argue his case, threatened to withdraw from the tournament, and did not confirm he would play Saturday until nearly midnight local time — holding up third-round tee times for the entire field while he pounded balls on the range in the dark.
Rory McIlroy, watching from the players’ lounge, was blunt. “I was up in the players lounge watching it with a few other players, and as soon as he made the step into the ball, we all sort of looked at each other, and we were like, that didn’t seem right,” McIlroy said. “I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing. Whether it was careless or whether it was intentional, I don’t think it matters. Hopefully it was careless, but I think the two-shot penalty was justified for sure.”
McIlroy went further, calling DeChambeau’s behavior “performative” and “for attention” and accusing him of holding “the tournament hostage.” He added: “I’m not particularly fond of him. I didn’t feel like it was a good look.”
Scottie Scheffler, grouped with DeChambeau for the first two rounds, told reporters he had “a ton to say” on the matter but wasn’t ready to do so publicly.
Sam Burns, DeChambeau’s playing partner on Saturday, took the opposite stance. “From my perspective, I didn’t feel like maybe there was enough evidence for him to deserve a penalty there,” Burns said. “I feel bad for him. I think he played an incredible round of golf late yesterday, and it’s unfortunate to have something kind of like that where they come in after your round and tell you you’re being docked two shots. But props to him. He came out and played a really nice round of golf today, and that takes a lot of grit.”
DeChambeau carded a 1-under 69 on Saturday, grinding through 14 holes with a single birdie before stuffing his tee shot on the par-3 15th and rolling in a 10-footer on 17. A wayward drive and a missed par putt on 18 cost him a shot. The round was steady. Everything around it was not.
He was heckled throughout — “Bryson, you cheat!” and “The rough can’t help you now!” among the calls from the gallery — and cheered just as loudly by supporters who followed him in a swarm. On the ninth tee, he pulled his driver with theatrical flourish to a roar that echoed across the links. He high-fived children, posed for selfies, and beckoned security away from a young fan. At one point he reached his ball in the rough, brushed away pine cones, and announced “loose impediments” to the crowd.
After signing his card, DeChambeau walked past waiting reporters — his eighth consecutive major round without speaking to the press — and entered the R&A championship office for an animated, unscheduled meeting with CEO Mark Darbon. He requested his second-round scorecard. The request was denied. He briefly returned to the scoring tent, then headed to the range.
The media silence has become its own story. After the penalty was assessed Friday, DeChambeau hit balls on the range until it was pitch black, surrounded by waiting journalists. He offered them almonds and beef sticks. No interview. On Saturday, reporter Kevin Van Valkenburg recounted calling out to DeChambeau: “You know, we never got those almonds you promised.” DeChambeau chuckled and kept walking.
Burns enters Sunday with a two-stroke cushion and the lowest 36-hole total in major championship history. He has not won since the 2023 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. The margin between him and a Claret Jug is four strokes’ worth of DeChambeau drama, plus whatever Sunday brings.
Sources:
- Eamon Lynch, Golfweek via Yahoo Sports
- Yahoo Sports — “A day later, Bryson DeChambeau continues to hang over The Open”
- Yahoo Sports — “Bryson DeChambeau reprises role as pantomime villain”
- Yahoo Sports — “The request Bryson DeChambeau made to the R&A”
- Yahoo Sports — Sam Burns on DeChambeau penalty
- CBS Sports — 2026 Open picks and odds