Bryson DeChambeau is upset after being penalized for trampling the grass at The Open 2026
Bryson DeChambeau walked off the 18th green in the second round of the 2026 Open Championship fist pumping and waving to the crowd after a birdie at the end moved him to 7 under, one shot off the lead heading into the weekend at Royal Birkdale. Or so he thought.
As DeChambeau walked to the teeing ground, he was greeted by R&A officials who informed him that they wanted to return to the 5th hole and investigate a possible violation after DeChambeau’s tee shot found the long grass on the right of the par 4.
The video showed DeChambeau stepping into the long grass behind his ball several times, appearing to purposely stomp it to make way for his swing. Assuming he did, he received a two-stroke penalty, pushing him from solo 2nd to T5 on the leaderboard, three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert.
Because of this, DeChambeau initially threatened to withdraw from the Open, although cooler heads prevailed a few hours later.
DeChambeau and his caddy walked out to the site with the officials, where a distraught DeChambeau pleaded guilty. Unfortunately for him, the R&A wasn’t buying his attempt to prove his innocence. The saga produced some amazing scenes, where with or without sound, it was not difficult to figure out what was going on.
Despite DeChambeau’s best efforts and wild actions, he couldn’t sway the officials from giving him a penalty. The teams rode back to the scoring area, where a long conversation ensued with DeChambeau, his caddy and his agent.
The R&A’s executive director of governance Grant Moir confirmed the sentence after the round:
“Bryson was penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving his intended swing position. … Decision 1 limits what a player may do to improve any protected conditions affecting the stroke, and this includes the player’s intended swing position. So improvement means changing one or more conditions affecting the stroke in order for the player to gain a potential stroke advantage, as this practice is dangerous, as this practice is wrong. In Bryson’s case.
“The area of the target swing includes every area that may reasonably affect any part of the backswing, descent or complaint of the target swing, and importantly, what action is prohibited here is that the player must not move, bend or break any natural object that is growing or attached. The player is allowed to take his position accordingly by taking reasonable steps to reach the position that touches the ball, improve the position, improve the position, improve the position and improve his situation. stroke, but when he does so, the player must take a small step to deal with a certain situation and he does not have the right to stop or swing normally I would emphasize: This rule applies even when there is no intention to improve the area, as was the case with Bryson.
The big result was that his bogey on the 5th became a triple bogey, and his 66 for the round turned into a 68. That dropped him from lone 2nd at 7 under back to 5 under and T5 alongside Sam Burns and Si Woo Kim. That’s a key difference during the tournament, and the penalty decision quickly becomes one of the biggest stories of the weekend, regardless of what DeChambeau does on Saturday and Sunday.
If he wins, he will have defeated a regulatory decision he believes is harsh and unfair — although it’s not hard to see what law enforcement officials see in the video. If he finishes one or two shots ahead, the two-stroke penalty will be an even bigger issue, and if he backs up and goes down, most will predict that the penalty will shake DeChambeau’s focus.
