Bryson DeChambeau reportedly pulled out an absolute stunner at the 2026 British Open, allegedly warning R&A officials he was ready to call President Donald Trump. This came during a wild rules dispute over a two-stroke penalty that completely jacked up his final pairing status at Royal Birkdale, according to a report from The Times. Seriously, you read that right.
That Alleged Trump Card Move
So, here’s the scoop on how this whole thing supposedly went down. DeChambeau was hit with a two-stroke penalty, and man, did he fiercely dispute it. He reportedly spent about 40 minutes pleading his case to tournament officials and even considered bailing out of the whole tournament! The alleged Trump remark came during this tense meeting after Friday’s second round. The Times reported that DeChambeau demanded to go back to the fifth hole to check things out before allegedly dropping the bomb about contacting Trump. What exactly he meant by that is still super fuzzy, and there’s zero indication he actually made the call. R&A chief executive Mark Darbon later confirmed what we all might’ve guessed: Trump never contacted him. Darbon even said, “No, I have not received a call from President Trump.” This whole wild story? Yeah, DeChambeau, LIV Golf, and the R&A all declined to comment on The Times’ account, so we gotta treat it as an allegation, not cold, hard fact.
The Penalty That Started It All
What exactly got DeChambeau so fired up to allegedly threaten a call to a former president? It started on the par-4 fifth hole during Friday’s second round when his tee shot landed in some seriously deep grass. TV footage showed DeChambeau stepping into the area around his ball while getting ready for his second shot. The R&A officials determined that he basically pressed down grass in the path of his intended backswing, which could’ve made his shot easier. DeChambeau argued that any improvement was a total accident. But the R&A wasn’t having it. They agreed he didn’t mean to alter the area, but intent didn’t change the rule. They slapped him with a two-stroke penalty for inadvertently improving his swing area. What was a bogey became a triple bogey. Talk about a brutal hit! The reported threat, as wild as it sounds, gains some traction because DeChambeau and Trump have a public relationship, even playing golf together and DeChambeau calling Trump a friend.
This whole saga is still just an allegation, remember, with no public confirmation from DeChambeau, Trump, or the R&A. But whether it’s confirmed or not, that two-stroke penalty already dropped DeChambeau out of the final pairing. What a mess! Everyone’s waiting to see if anything else shakes out from this absolutely wild scene at Royal Birkdale.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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