Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut at the Masters, the PGA Championship, and the US Open. At The Open Championship last week, he finally turned it around, finishing T14. None of that was the story. What grabbed the spotlight instead was a two-stroke penalty, a heated exchange with rules officials, and, eventually, a phone call DeChambeau never actually got: one from President Donald Trump.

Given how close DeChambeau is with Trump, R&A CEO Mark Darbon was asked whether the President had called to push for the ruling to be reversed. He said no. Trump himself has since weighed in on the penalty directly.

“Well, it’s not a fixer. You’re being a judge. Like, you know, I thought the Bryson call was a tough call. You know, I saw him walking around. I see a lot of people that are walking around looking for their ball and weeds. OK, but I’ve been watching that. So, you know, I thought it was a tough call against him,” Donald Trump told the media, as seen in a video posted by Bryson Legion on X.

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The controversy centers on the par-four fifth hole during the second round. Bryson DeChambeau was looking for his golf ball when officials say that he inadvertently improved the lie around his intended backswing. So, based on Rule 8.1, the R&A gave him a two-stroke penalty, which dropped him down from a solo second to fifth position after Round 2.

This created a divide in the golf world. Rory McIlroy also backed the ruling, saying that regardless of whether DeChambeau did that on purpose or accidentally, the decision was justified.

“I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing. Again, it’s like, 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 said.

He even went on to call the aftermath of the decision just a “performative” act by Bryson DeChambeau.

On the other hand, some golfers backed DeChambeau, too, and the two-time major winner was looking for some backing from Donald Trump. Trump has a track record here: during the 2026 World Cup, he personally asked FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review a red card against U.S. striker Folarin Balogun, and the suspension was lifted. Given his friendship with Woods, Trump has stepped in on athletes’ behalf before, too.

“I thought the red card was a very tough call and it worked out brilliantly. Look, supposing that they didn’t let him play and we lost, everyone would have been angry. Right. The way it was that they lost with their best player. Now everyone’s happy, including Balogun. Of course, they lost the next game. So they might. They’re not that happy either. But it worked out great. Johnny did a good job in making that call. All I did, I asked for a review. I thought that call was not a good call,” he said about the red card involvement.

While he believes that it was a tough call against Bryson DeChambeau, Donald Trump didn’t get directly involved this time. The 32-year-old golf pro believes that this cost him a lot.

Bryson DeChambeau believes the two-stroke penalty cost him the Claret Jug

The American pro didn’t say this directly. But his cryptic message most certainly pointed out that he could have won the Claret Jug if it were not for the penalty. He finished six shots behind the winner, Ryan Fox. However, when he spoke to the media at LIV Golf UK for the first time after The Open, his message was clear.

“It was a good fight. I wish I’d have given it more on Saturday and Sunday, it felt like I could have. Besides the fifth, being three over on it, and the 11th, that’s six shots. That’s tied for the lead right there. Two holes and I’m right there for the Claret Jug,” he said at LIV Golf UK.

Besides the triple bogey on the par-four fifth hole in Round 2, he took three extra shots to complete the par-four 11th in his final round, too. According to him, if he had finished these two holes at par and scored a couple more birdies, he would have won the Claret Jug.

This is more of an “if” situation because even if he had not been penalized in the second round, it would have only reduced the gap by two strokes. Thus, he would have still fallen short of winning The Open if only the penalty is considered.

DeChambeau is already three rounds into LIV Golf UK, with the Ryder Cup buildup next on his calendar, still without a top-10 in a major since his 2024 U.S. Open win. The math on his own two holes doesn’t get him to the Claret Jug, penalty or not, and no amount of sympathy from Trump changes that arithmetic.