Bryson DeChambeau assessed two-shot penalty for improving his lie at The Open
Bryson DeChambeau assessed two-shot penalty for improving his lie at The Open
Nick Stavas and Adam Schupak, GolfweekFri, July 17, 2026 at 8:44 PM UTC
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Bryson DeChambeau has been assessed a two-shot penalty for improving his lie, a violation of Rule 8.1, on the fifth hole during the Friday's second round of the 2026 Open Championship.
DeChambeau hit his drive into the native fescue area to the right of the fairway on No. 5. When he first approached his ball, he took several steps around it and appeared as if he might have been stomping down the long grass behind his ball, clearing the way for his backswing.
DeChambeau ultimately hacked out of the fescue, bogeyed the fifth, and played on, shooting 4-under 66 to finish the day in solo second at seven under, just one shot off the lead. But more than an hour after he walked off the 18th green, that bogey on the fifth was changed to a triple-bogey 7. His score was subsequently changed to 68, dropping him into a tie for fifth.
After the ruling was made, DeChambeau exited the scoring tent, brushed past Golf Channel's Todd Lewis and made his way to the driving range, stopping to sign some autographs on the way. In front of his caddie and seven other members of his entourage, he worked on his swing as if it was just another post-round grind. At one point, he offered media members some of his snacks, which he said included almonds and beef sticks. "That felt pretty good, dude. That's it," DeChambeau said before hitting a few more and finally shutting it down at approximately 10:30 p.m. [Sunset was 9:32 p.m. local time.] DeChambeau walked off without answering if he planned to play on Saturday.
Golfweek spoke with DeChambeau's agent, Brett Falkoff, who said DeChambeau wasn't told of the potential infraction on No. 5 until after the round. At DeChambeau's request, rules officials with the R&A drove DeChambeau out to the fifth hole in a golf cart after he had completed his round to address the situation. In video that aired on Golf Channel, it seemed the conversation got quite heated, with an animated DeChambeau arguing his case. According to Falkoff, "[The R&A] feel he wasn't careful enough around a sensitive area and he improved his swing path." He noted that he was used to his client being attacked on social media but in this case he was encouraged that the court of public opinion was siding with DeChambeau, and showed the posting on X of one of DeChambeau's "haters" as proof. He added of DeChambeau: "He's a lot of things; he's not a cheater."
Falkoff contended that DeChambeau was "wrongfully penalized," and said that he felt the R&A had already made its decision. When Falkoff was asked if DeChambeau will play Saturday or withdraw in protest, Falkoff said, "your guess is as good as mine."
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Chief rules official explains Bryson DeChambeau penalty
The chief rules official for The Open, Grant Moir, gave a lengthy explanation for the penalty against DeChambeau after the ruling was made.
"Bryson has been penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, his intended backswing, on the fifth hole while he was playing his second shot," Moir said.
Moir then went on to read the specific rule applying to this incident in full detail, wrapping up his statement by saying, "I would reiterate, this rule applies even when there's no intention to improve the area, as was the case with Bryson."
Editor's note: This is a developing story that will be when new information becomes available.
Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: The Open 2026: Bryson DeChambeau assessed 2-shot penalty after 2nd round
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