Bryson DeChambeau received a rapturous reception as he teed off for his third round at the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Less than 24 hours earlier, the American had been hit with a two-shot penalty for a rules violation during his second round.
Penalty for Inadvertent Rules Breach
DeChambeau was judged to have inadvertently improved the line of his swing by trampling on long grass close to his ball after hitting into the rough on the fifth hole. The penalty dropped him back to five under for the tournament, but he received plenty of support from those in attendance on the first tee. He was greeted by huge cheers as he made his way to the tee; his first shot of the round was greeted by shouts of “Come on, Bryson”.
No sooner had the two-time U.S. Open winner hit his tee shot than hundreds set off to watch the 32-year-old complete his round.
Reaction to the Ruling
DeChambeau was informed of the sanction after completing his round on Friday night, leading to extraordinary scenes. He travelled back to the scene of the infringement before officials saw him remonstrating as he recreated the incident. Reacting to the two-shot penalty, he wrote on X: "Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don't agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let's get it."
Sir Nick Faldo believes DeChambeau can have no complaints over the punishment. "You cannot remove anything in your intended swing path," he told Sky Sports. "It was totally inadvertent but it has nothing to do with that, it has nothing to do with Bryson, but he is a golfer that has put his foot down and moved the grass. It is in the rule book. The R&A handled it beautifully. Bottom line – job done. ‘Sorry mate, you’ve got a two-shot penalty’."
R&A Defends Decision
R&A chief executive Mark Darbon believes the two-shot penalty was a "clear-cut decision". He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "It was an unfortunate decision but really clear-cut from a rules perspective." He added: "Under this rule, there's no distinction between a deliberate act or an accidental or inadvertent act. I'll let Bryson comment for himself, but he was adamant with us that this was inadvertent and we had no reason to offer a different perspective."
