DeChambeau receives two-shot penalty in dramatic Open scenes
DeChambeau hit with shock two-stroke penalty at The Open
- Published
Bryson DeChambeau's bid to win The Open has taken a hit after he was given a two-shot penalty on a dramatic evening at Royal Birkdale.
The American looked to have lifted himself to one shot off the lead on seven under par with a four-under 66 in round two, but was whisked away by rules officials when he walked off the course to discuss a rules infringement.
DeChambeau was accused of trampling on long grass close to his ball on the fifth hole.
After a long discussion with Open officials, it was confirmed he had been given a two-shot penalty for "inadvertently improving his lie", pushing him back to five under par and three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert.
DeChambeau's participation in the rest of the tournament remains in doubt after the two-time US Open champion, who has never won The Open, refused to confirm he would definitely play in Saturday's third round.
He refused to answer questions when he walked past the assembled media after emerging from the recorders' office, where he spent more than 20 minutes discussing the issue with officials including R&A chief executive Mark Darbon.
All he said was: "Are you guys having a great night? I'm having a great night."
DeChambeau then added that he was off to "hit some balls" and headed off to the driving range, where he posed for a selfie with fans before talking to his team on the practice area.
How a dramatic evening unfolded
Bryson DeChambeau has dropped from second on the leaderboard to tied fifth at the halfway stage
20:24 BST: DeChambeau birdies the 18th to move to seven under, one shot adrift of Australia's Herbert
Shortly after coming off the course, DeChambeau is driven off to the fifth hole by rules officials to discuss whether he trampled down grass near his ball.
20:58 BST: DeChambeau is involved in an animated discussion with the officials, close to where the incident occurred, and looked extremely frustrated.
21:15 BST: He arrives back on the buggy near the media centre, DeChambeau is asked if he is playing in round three on Saturday. He does not answer and simply smiles.
21:35 BST: DeChambeau emerges from the cabin and his two-shot penalty is confirmed.
What was DeChambeau deemed to have done wrong?
DeChambeau hit a wayward drive into deep rough on the fifth hole of his second round on Saturday.
His ball was found and videos surfaced of the 32-year-old American seemingly trampling down some knee-high rough behind his ball.
DeChambeau was later deemed to have not "played the course as it is found", breaking Rule 8.1 which revolves around player's actions that "improve conditions affecting the stroke".
This includes the area of the player's intended swing - which DeChambeau was found to have interfered with.
"Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of intended backswing on fifth hole," said Grant Moir, the R&A's executive director, governance.
Moir added: "I'll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson's case."
DP World Tour rules official Graeme Storm, who is working as a BBC Sport summariser for 5 Live radio at The Open, said: "He's improved the line of play for his club to be able to hit the golf ball.
"Whether that's intentional doesn't really matter. If you improve your line of play you're improving your lie so you get the general penalty of two shots."
Analysis: It's hard to remember post-round drama like this
Once DeChambeau holed that birdie putt on the 18th it was a dash back to the media centre to write about how brilliant he had played.
Within about half an hour, the whole picture had dramatically changed.
A big screen showed live images of DeChambeau talking with the rules officials and nobody needed a body language expert to say the discussion was not going his way.
Arms were folded and then hands were pointing. His expression was one of pure frustration.
When he jumped back on the buggy back to the clubhouse area, dozens of journalists had gathered to wait for the chance to ask DeChambeau questions.
He refused and walked straight to the recorders' hut. The wait was long and the suspense was high.
DeChambeau eventually emerged and batted off questions as he marched towards the range, where he hit balls in the darkness until almost 22:30 BST.
It was pure drama. And even the most seasoned golf reporters cannot recall anything quite as bizarre happening at an Open Championship.
