South Africa’s Shaun Norris had to go home disappointed from the Open Championship last month after his T53 finish. So, weeks later, when he arrived at Trump International Golf Links for the $3 million Nexo Championship, he had one goal in mind: win. And for the first 54 holes through Saturday, the 44-year-old was doing exactly that, until everything went wrong. 

“Shaun Norris is handed a two-shot penalty ⚠️,” the DP World Tour posted on X.
“Rule 8.1 – Players Actions That Improve Conditions Affecting the Stroke while preparing to play his approach shot from the fairway on Hole 5 in the final round of the Nexo Championship.”

On the par-4 fifth hole, Norris was preparing to hit his approach shot from the fairway when he kicked away a replaced divot with his right foot. He saved par. But rules officials determined that amounted to improving his lie and penalized him under the same rule, Bryson DeChambeau was penalized on at the Open Championship. But there is a catch.

Why was the ruling controversial?

Officials determined that Shaun Norris had improved the area of his stance by moving the divot before playing his approach. That was ruled a breach of Rule 8.1a, which prohibits players from taking actions that improve the conditions affecting a stroke. In stroke play, the general penalty is two shots.

Why is it tricky in Norris’s case, though?

Looking at the rule more closely: Once a divot has largely been returned roots-down into a divot hole, it is regarded as part of the ground, even if it is detached and has not been placed back in its original hole. It therefore cannot be treated like a loose impediment that a player is free to remove. But the divot was not properly replaced in the first place.

“Really is a wild decision to me,” Ryan French of Monday Q Info tweeted. “Shaun Norris is being penalized for kicking away a divot that hadn’t been properly replaced. It was clearly sticking up above the surface of the ground.”

From the video, it appeared the divot was still sticking up, and when Norris placed his foot, it appeared to cause some trouble. Notice closely here in this video when he kicks it. The South African clearly thought it was the normal and rational thing to do.

He completed the hole believing he had made par and remained at 9-under through the front nine. Officials informed Shaun Norris of the breach while he walked from the ninth green to the 10th tee. The penalty turned his par at the fifth into a double bogey, dropping him to 7-under and out of the lead as he began the back nine. The consequence of the decision was felt later in the round.

His round went from bad to worse to ugly

Norris had started the day two shots clear of the field, but a bogey at the par-4 third and a birdie at the par-5 fourth left him tied for the lead at 9-under with Scott Jamieson when he reached the fifth.

The penalty was a pivotal moment, as Norris was unable to recover over the closing stretch. He birdied the 11th before a double bogey at the par-4 12th left him five shots behind Jamieson. Norris then made another double bogey at the par-5 18th and signed for a 4-over 76.

Jamieson began the final round three shots behind Norris but produced the best score of Sunday, a 5-under 67, to win the Nexo Championship at 11-under. The Scot finished two shots ahead of England’s Matthew Jordan, securing his second DP World Tour title and his first in nearly 14 years.

For Norris, the contrast was stark. He started the day with a two-shot lead, but the fifth-hole penalty and three double bogeys in his closing 76 sent him to a tie for seventh at 5-under, six shots behind Jamieson.

What does Shaun Norris think of the penalty?

He appeared disappointed with the decision, but there was no argument from his side. For now, Shaun has not publicly commented on the ruling in the immediate aftermath. Still, the decision prompted debate because it stemmed from the removal of a replaced divot, an action many viewers may not realize can be treated as improving the conditions affecting a stroke under the rule.

Norris arrived in Scotland in strong form after winning the Mizuno Open on the Japan Golf Tour in May at 24-under par, five shots clear of the field.

The episode also recalled Bryson DeChambeau’s controversial two-stroke penalty during the second round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale last month. DeChambeau was penalized after officials ruled that he had inadvertently improved the area of his intended backswing in thick fescue while playing his second shot at the fifth.

In any case, this was the first two-stroke penalty Shaun Norris has ever received in his career. However, from the looks of things, it appears the penalty came at the worst time possible.