Bryson DeChambeau was assessed a two-stroke penalty after finishing his second round at the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The penalty came after R&A officials reviewed a potential infraction on DeChambeau’s second shot at the par-4 fifth hole, where he may have improved his lie or his swing path.
DeChambeau drove his tee shot into a penalty area on the fifth. He took practice swings and walked back and forth near the ball before hacking it out long of the green. Officials determined he had trampled the grass near his ball enough to improve his lie.
DeChambeau and multiple rules officials returned to the fifth hole to review the incident, where DeChambeau had a tense exchange with officials before the penalty was assessed. The on-course exchange lasted about 10 minutes and ended with DeChambeau appearing to say, “I’m not gonna play tomorrow,” before walking off. The two sides then went into the scoring tent for further discussion. From the end of his round to the final ruling, the process took more than 60 minutes.
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R&A rules chief Grant Moir said DeChambeau “has been penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended backswing on the fifth hole.” Moir added that intent does not factor into the ruling, and that any action creating a “potential advantage” warrants a penalty.
DeChambeau’s score on the fifth hole changed from bogey to triple bogey, turning his round from a 4-under 66 into a 2-under 68. He’s now 5-under for the tournament, tied for fifth, after carding a 67 in the opening round.
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DeChambeau went to the range afterward and hit balls for upwards of an hour, staying out until almost 10:30 p.m. local time. He is no longer in the final group with Lucas Herbert after the two-stroke penalty.
