Bryson DeChambeau reportedly threw down a wild gauntlet at The Open, threatening to quit entirely after getting slapped with a controversial two-shot penalty. Word on the street was he told officials in a heated dispute, “I just won’t play tomorrow.”
The Royal Birkdale Drama Unfolds
This whole mess started over an infringement for improving the area for his backswing in the deep rough of Royal Birkdale’s driveable par-four fifth. Officials hauled him back to the scene of the crime for a long, animated discussion. DeChambeau, club in hand, even tried to show R&A officials how he played the shot. But nope, they went back to the recorders’ office, and he got hit with a two-stroke penalty. It was a chaotic scene, really. After the ruling, he blew past reporters on his way to the practice ground, not saying a word. His own manager, Brett Falkoff, was completely in the dark about DeChambeau’s Saturday appearance, admitting, “Your guess is as good as mine.” With all the rumors flying about him bailing, Bryson spent almost an hour hitting balls under the giant screen on the range, finally dipping out at 10:29pm.
Midnight Posts Quash the Quit Talk
Then, shortly after midnight, the whole vibe shifted. DeChambeau jumped on social media, posting on X that he was “fired up” for the weekend. The speculation about him abandoning his bid for a first Claret Jug? Quashed. He wrote, “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.” He even got creative on Instagram, dropping digitally-manipulated pics of himself floating above the rough where the penalty happened, captioned “Walking into the weekend like…” That penalty hit him hard, though, knocking him from just one stroke behind to three strokes back of second-round leader Lucas Herbert. He’s now at five under and will be teeing off with Sam Burns from 3:30pm BST in the third-to-last pairing. Burns, by the way, also shot an insane 62 on Friday. What a pairing to watch!
So, despite the absolute circus and a penalty he clearly doesn’t agree with, Bryson DeChambeau is playing. The Open’s chief referee, Grant Moir, even gave a detailed explanation, stating Bryson was penalized for “inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing” on that fifth hole, violating Ruling 8.1. That rule stops players from altering conditions to gain an advantage. This fires him up? We’re about to see what that fire looks like on the course with Sam Burns. Get ready for some drama this weekend!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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