Bryson DeChambeau didn’t come anywhere near winning The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale last week.
And despite Ryan Fox producing some sensational golf down the stretch at The Open, DeChambeau was arguably the biggest story of the week.
The 32-year-old LIV Golf star was the center of attention once again at Royal Birkdale, but for all the wrong reasons.
Bryson DeChambeau made a birdie on his final hole of the day on Friday at The Open to move just one stroke behind the leader, Lucas Herbert, with 36 holes left to play.
However, that deficit quickly became three strokes after he was adjudged to have broken the rules on the fifth hole at Birkdale, having trampled down some of the long grass behind his ball in the rough.
DeChambeau received a two-stroke penalty after his second round at The Open, and he actually threatened to withdraw from the championship.
Bryson DeChambeau fiasco was ‘a scar on the Open Championship’
Mark Lye, a one-time PGA Tour winner, took to his X account on Sunday and suggested that
“I like Ryan Fox, but this week has been a scar on the Open Championship in my opinion,“ Lye insisted.
“What a great course and now, another great champion, who I’m told is one of the “good” guys.
“It’s the DeChambeau situation. Anyone who has played the game for a living knows what an injustice this was.
“This guy was in the hunt big time. I’ve seen in my day many many exact moves like this, no latent penalties from the phones.“
This was a particularly bizarre take from Lye, especially this line: “Anyone who has played the game for a living knows what an injustice this was.“
The likes of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Marco Penge all insisted that the R&A made the correct decision by penalizing DeChambeau.
Whether there was intent behind the LIV Golf star’s actions or not is irrelevant. The decision was the correct one.
Professional golf being influenced by ‘phoners’
Lye vented his anger at the fact that the outcome of golf tournaments can be influenced by fans watching from their homes.
“The scar is the DeChambeau situation, enough said,“ Lye exclaimed.
“My colleagues are stunned, as I am. Another “phoner” influencing our sport.“
This point from Lye was a far better one than his first gripe.
In no other sport can fans phone in or tweet videos of plays and influence the match referees to make certain decisions.
This should never be allowed to happen in golf either.
A new rule should come into play where a referee follows every single group out on the golf course and once a hole is complete, with the official in attendance, the score that a player makes is then final.
That is the only way to ensure a fair competition for every single player in the field.
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