Bryson DeChambeau is absolutely fuming once again, and this time it’s over a two-stroke penalty that he believes unfairly derailed his run at the 154th British Open. This wasn’t some minor bump, either; that ruling at the fifth hole turned a bogey into a triple, immediately knocking him back to 5 under and T-5, three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert, and put a major dent in his pursuit of a third career major championship.
The “Open-and-Shut” Case That Sent DeChambeau Raging
The whole uproar started with a ruling against DeChambeau for violating Rule 8.1, which prohibits improving one’s intended backswing. While his manager, Brett Falkoff, was quick to tell the media that his client is “not a cheater,” and the R&A even stated the action was “inadvertent,” the rules officials couldn’t disagree more with DeChambeau’s outrage. Several past and present officials, who have a responsibility to protect the field, were unified in their assessment: the R&A got it right. They called it an “open-and-shut case,” emphasizing that a player’s intent simply isn’t part of the equation when a rule is broken. This isn’t the first time a player has felt wronged by a ruling, and it won’t be the last. But DeChambeau’s reaction is what everyone is still talking about.
“Spoiled Brat” Outburst Shows True Colors
Instead of accepting the penalty, DeChambeau went full “spoiled brat,” reportedly calling the rules officials “crooks” and even threatening to withdraw from the championship when things didn’t go his way. Imagine that, threatening to take your ball and go home from the British Open! It’s a stark contrast to how Ireland’s Shane Lowry handled his own two-shot penalty at Royal Portrush last year when his ball moved in the rough. Lowry said he “had to take it,” even expressing disappointment about the lack of camera angles, but he faced the media, offered a “candid and cogent explanation,” and didn’t want to get “slaughtered all over social media tonight for being a cheat.” DeChambeau, however, never seems to admit he’s wrong. One highly respected rules official wrote that “one’s true self shows under stressful circumstances. Once again Bryson’s true self shows itself,” and it’s hard to argue with that. Even his own YouTube channel, where he could control the narrative, couldn’t edit out the “petulance and unwillingness to accept the penalty” from his encounter with the R&A. And he reportedly even mocked the R&A on Instagram! He just wanted to make everyone, from his team to the media to the R&A, feel his pain, culminating in him hitting balls for nearly an hour into the darkness at the driving range.
This is Bryson DeChambeau, unfiltered. The British Open continues, but his eruption over a clear penalty is the lasting image many will carry from this event.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
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