Bryson DeChambeau has been the big story at The Open Championship this week.
Regardless of how DeChambeau actually plays, he always seems to want to be the star of the show.
The two-time US Open champion has certainly hit the headlines this week at Royal Birkdale.
Bryson DeChambeau‘s second round at The Open ended in misery after his 66 quickly became a 68 when he was penalized two strokes for breaking Rule 8.1a.
DeChambeau was deemed to have trampled down the long grass behind his ball in the rough to the right of the fairway on the fifth hole.
The LIV Golf star then caused a huge furore by suggesting that he might not even play in the third round due to the fact that he felt so hard done by.
That obviously didn’t happen as DeChambeau turned up at Royal Birkdale for the third round.
However, the noise surrounding him got even louder on Saturday, and that bodes well for the Ryder Cup in 2027, with some extra spice added.
European players criticize Bryson DeChambeau
Rory McIlroy kicked off the onslaught with some seriously harsh criticism of DeChambeau.
“I was watching it live. I was up in the players lounge watching it with a few other players, and as soon as he made the step into the ball, we all sort of looked at each other, and we were like, that didn’t seem right,“ he said.
“Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, I think we all — it was pretty obvious for why.
“Yeah, I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing. Again, it’s like, whether it was careless or whether it was intentional, I don’t think it matters. Hopefully it was careless, but I think the two-shot penalty was justified for sure.
“Late night for everyone. Yeah, look, I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I’m not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it’s performative. I think a lot of it’s for attention.
“To hold the tournament hostage like that, and to have all of us, players, volunteers, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.“
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry also chimed in with his opinion on the matter.
“Yeah, I mean, looks to me like he improved his lie, and that’s the rules of golf,“ he said.
“Yeah, it was interesting watching it last night. None of us were expecting it. I was watching the end of the golf — yeah, that’s the rules of golf. It’s unfortunate for him, but that’s the way it is.“
Marco Penge was another European player who offered his views on the situation.
“Yeah, I mean, probably shouldn’t give my opinion on it,“ he said.
“Yeah, I mean, you can obviously see on the TV. Everyone has got their own opinion of the scenario. Yeah, it’s really — with it being so burnt out, as well.
“I remember day one, four times on the front nine I was in the semi-rough and I wasn’t even — I didn’t ground the club or get anywhere near it because your club is slipping all over the place, so it’s so easy to make a mistake by accident.
“Yeah, that one was — I’ll leave that to everyone else.“
However, numerous American players defended DeChambeau, including Xander Schauffele and Sam Burns.
American players leap to Bryson DeChambeau’s defence
“You know, I don’t know the — I don’t have social media, so I was wondering why our tee times weren’t coming out at about 10:50 p.m. last night. I’m assuming that had something to do with it,“ Schauffele said.
“It’s a tough one. Who knows. I have no idea, to be honest. I’m assuming you talk to Bryson — I haven’t spoken to him or heard what he said, but he’s just stepping in how you’d normally step in to hit a golf shot. I think the R&A said something along the lines of whether it’s intentional or not, it’s still a penalty.
“It’s a tough spot to be, obviously, when you’re in high brush, kind of having to dance around to get to your golf ball is a tricky thing. It’s not something we’re used to doing that often.
“You imagine you give him the benefit of the doubt; he said he didn’t do it intentionally, and it’s unfortunate that he got penalized because he was playing incredibly well and obviously he’s still playing incredibly well, so he’s obviously going to have something to prove these next two days.“
And Burns echoed a similar sentiment.
“I thought the fans were very supportive of Bryson today. We didn’t discuss it any,“ the Open leader said.
“In my personal opinion, I honestly feel bad for Bryson in the situation that he was in. From my perspective, I didn’t feel like maybe there was enough evidence for him to deserve a penalty there.
“I feel bad for him. I think he played an incredible round of golf late yesterday, and it’s unfortunate to have something kind of like that where they come in after your round and tell you you’re being docked two shots.
“But props to him. He came out and played a really nice round of golf today, and that takes a lot of grit to be able to come out and do that. So I was impressed.“
A rivalry between the American and European players could easily develop ahead of the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in 2027 due to the controversy caused by Bryson DeChambeau at The Open this week.
A very clear line has been drawn between the players from both sides after their responses to the DeChambeau fiasco.
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