Bryson DeChambeau has become one of the biggest talking points at Royal Birkdale. After getting off to a strong start at The Open on Thursday, the R&A handed the two-time U.S. Open champion a two-stroke penalty on the par-4 5th during Friday’s second round for improving the area of his intended swing. The controversial ruling has since sparked widespread debate, with several players weighing in, including six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa. He shared his thoughts on whether the ruling was fair during Saturday’s press conference.

“I’m not really, I guess, wanting to be able to decide on fair, because they’re the rules officials. I only saw one angle, and in my opinion, I didn’t agree with the ruling. I know there’s another angle that — side on, it’s always hard to tell if it improves anything.

Homa, who has known DeChambeau from his rivalry days with Brooks Koepka, claimed Bryson wouldn’t cheat and pointed out an inherent flaw in Rule 8.1.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

How Many Shots Was Bryson DeChambeau Penalized in R2 of the Open?

2134

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

“I’ve known Bryson for a very long time. I know he would never cheat at the game of golf. I don’t really love how it happened. It’s not that the R&A said that he did it intentionally, but that rule, as a professional golfer, feels like it’s written inherently to protect against people trying to improve their lie. So I just hope that people don’t have that — that doesn’t create a narrative because I don’t believe that of him.”

Although multiple camera angles captured the incident, there was no camera behind the 32-year-old that captured the incident during the 5th hole after DeChambeau drove into deep knee-high rough. Not to mention, officials were some 20 meters away, which made R&A’s decision even more controversial. 

However, after the Modesto, California native finished with a 4-under 66 in the second round, he was pulled aside for an on-course discussion with the officials. They reviewed the moment for a while, and the animated American showed the shot. Even though he threatened not to continue in the third round, the ruling stood, and he dropped to 5-under.

Despite that, DeChambeau decided to return for Moving Day. But this whole thing has done nothing to convince Max Homa that DeChambeau cheated. 

“Yeah, obviously he’s right to be frustrated. He was one back, and now he’s three. How I interpret that ruling, it feels very much like an intent-based thing, and if you’re telling a player that they did it, it sounds like… you’re telling me I intentionally tried to cheat the game.”

Regardless of how it sounds, Grant Moir, an executive director of the R&A, who was present during the on-course discussion with DeChambeau, claimed the incident was “accidental”. Despite that, he believed a penalty was still appropriate for what had happened. At the time of writing, the LIV Golf star is tied for 8th place, three shots behind Ryan Fox, who is on top of the leaderboard. 

Yet Homa, who is currently tied for 20th at the Open, wasn’t the only one to speak out. Xander Schauffele, who is T13 at the moment, admitted he hadn’t followed the controversy because he doesn’t use social media. But he felt DeChambeau appeared to be “just stepping in how you’d normally step in to hit a golf shot.” 

Although he acknowledged the R&A’s stance, Schauffele called it “a tough spot” since navigating thick rough often requires awkward movement. To him, DeChambeau deserved the “benefit of the doubt” because he insisted the act wasn’t intentional. Meanwhile, Russell Henley, who is T43 at the time of writing, admitted that taking a penalty “is tough” given how important every shot is. 

However, he added he’d “rather know that I did something wrong and be penalized for it” than have it go unnoticed. According to him, the penalty was “unfortunate,” yet he suggested that rules should apply equally to everyone. More importantly, he pointed out that DeChambeau is constantly covered; if another player committed something similar, they might get away with it. 

In the end, the debate over the penalty will continue, but the truth is the tournament has moved on. Bryson DeChambeau and others will have to as well.