Bryson DeChambeau penalized 2 strokes, agent claims he could withdraw from Open

Bryson DeChambeau was handed a two-stroke penalty upon completion of the second round of the Open Championship on Friday in Southport, England, after R&A rules officials determined he had taken actions to improve his lie out of tall, native grass on a shot 13 holes earlier.

Rather than waking up in second place and the final pairing for the third round on Saturday, DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, claimed on Friday night his fiery client instead wait until the sun rises again to decide whether to even participate in another hole at Royal Birkdale.

“He’s a lot of things. He’s not a cheater,” Falkoff told reporters as daylight ran thin Friday. “He’s a big boy. He’ll see how he feels. But he certainly feels he was unfairly penalized.”

DeChambeau, Falkoff claimed, plans to make the decision about returning to finish the final major of the season on his own and without input from others.

DeChambeau vehemently disagreed with the ruling when officials shuttled him back to the scene of the alleged misdeed before he could enter the scoring trailer to sign his second-round scorecard.

A popular but divisive figure in the world of golf, the member of LIV Golf originally posted a 4-under 66 to take second place at 7 under, one shot behind Australia’s Lucas Herbert. Now, DeChambeau will enter the weekend three behind Herbert instead of one, his bogey 5 at the fifth hole changed to a triple-bogey 7.

Following a session on the range commenced immediately after DeChambeau and his team left scoring, the narrative was less about the infraction and more about what comes next.

Walk away from a major championship with trailing the leader by three shots with 36 holes to go? Falkoff said Friday DeChambeau was “100 percent” serious.

Golf Channel broadcast cameras showed DeChambeau appear to tell rules officials “I just won’t play tomorrow” before they boarded multiple carts to return to the scoring trailer and the R&A released its decision.

DeChambeau hit his drive at the par-4 fifth hole far right and eventually found the ball in a native area. Replays showed the two-time major winner stamping down on different patches of tall grass near his ball. It may have affected not the lie of the ball, but the path for his eventual swing.

After news broke that officials were considering a two-stroke penalty, DeChambeau went back to the scene on the fifth hole with his caddie, agent and two rules officials to discuss the sequence of events. TV cameras captured a discussion several minutes long, and at points DeChambeau could be seen gesticulating and getting animated.

More than an hour after his round ended, the R&A, who organize The Open, finalized their official decision. A new score was reflected on the massive leaderboard between the 18th green and where DeChambeau stood ripping golf balls on the driving range.

–Field Level Media