Bryson DeChambeau can’t catch a break. Having entered The Open on the back of three missed cuts at this year’s majors, the nine-time PGA Tour winner opened the tournament on top of the leaderboard with a 3-under 67. However, as luck would have it, during round two, the American received a two-shot penalty.

On the drivable par-4 5th hole at Royal Birkdale, DeChambeau drove into deep, knee-high rough. After locating his ball, the 32-year-old was accused of trampling down grass behind it in his intended backswing while preparing to play his second shot. He shot a strong 4-under 66 in the second round, leaving him at 7-under.

He was just one shot off the lead held by Lucas Herbert following his record-equaling 62. But what’s worth noting is that there was no camera angle behind him and officials were 20 metres away, making it one of the more controversial decisions. After signing his scorecard, officials pulled him aside for a review with the tournament referee and Grant Moir, an executive director of the R&A.

🤔 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

Following a lengthy on-course discussion, officials handed him a two-stroke penalty for inadvertently improving his intended swing area. However, DeChambeau animatedly demonstrated the shot with his club in hand to plead his case. But the ruling stood, and he dropped back to 5-under and three strokes behind Herbert, moving him further down the leaderboard and into a tie for 5th place. According to some reports, he threatened not to continue in the third round.

“Obviously disappointed with the ruling,” DeChambeau later wrote on social media. “I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.”

Meanwhile, Grant Moir stated the matter, emphasizing that the 32-year-old hadn’t acted deliberately, but claimed the punishment was appropriate. 

“Ruling 1 restricts what a player may do to improve any of the protected conditions affecting the stroke, and this includes the area of the players intended swing. So an improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage. 

“Now, I’ll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson’s case.”

However, Moir’s statement did little to quell the chaos the incident generated, with veteran golfers sharing their opinions. 

Mark Calcavecchia, Wayne Riley, and others back Bryson DeChambeau

13-time PGA Tour winner Mark Calcavecchia tweeted, “No penalty for @brysondech no way.” The 66-year-old had to withdraw from the U.S. Senior Open because of ongoing health and mobility issues.

2010 U.S. Open winner Graeme McDowell also chimed in.

“Interesting here with Bryson. Looks like he may be penalized. Standing behind the ball, sizing up the shot in a normal routine, but ultimately trampling down the grass walking into the shot, which would improve his backswing? That’s my take. What do you guys see? Certainly not intentional, imo.”

Australian Open winner Wayne Riley couldn’t wrap his head around Bryson’s penalty.

“I can’t see how Bryson is going to get penalised without a camera behind him.”

Despite that, officials had reviewed TV footage during their discussion with DeChambeau. 

10-time PGA Tour winner Steve Elkington had the same point.

“Without a down-the-line camera view, there’s no way to know.”  

From the comments, it appears the entire golfing community is refusing to accept the penalty. This is in stark contrast to experts predicting DeChambeau won’t even make the cut in the final major of the season.