Bryson DeChambeau’s penalty is the talk of The Open.
The two-time US Open winner looked to have moved to one shot back of the lead after day two of The Open. But after his round, he was assessed a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie in the rough on the fifth hole.
DeChambeau was deemed by the R&A to have trampled down the grass around his ball to improve his ability to swing the club. After an hour of deliberation between DeChambeau, and after DeChambeau threatened to withdraw from the tournament, two strokes were taken from him.
This was a controversial ruling among the media, and it was put to the players after their third rounds at The Open.
Russell Henley shares thoughts on Bryson DeChambeau’s penalty
Henley was asked about DeChambeau’s penalty after his second round, and he explained why he thought it was harsh on the American. He said that, with him being such a popular player, the cameras caught his infringement where other players might have gone unnoticed.
Henley explained, “I think it’s tough. Every shot is so important. It’s tough in the moment to take it no matter. But I would rather know that I did something wrong and be penalized for it than — I’d like to know. It’s unfortunate, but I think everybody should be held accountable for the same rules.
“The issue with that to me is the fact that he’s on TV every shot. If I played that hole yesterday, you might not have seen — and I did the same thing, maybe they don’t penalize me because maybe they don’t see me do it. That’s the tough part; he’s on TV every single shot.”
Was Bryson DeChambeau's penalty unfair?
He was penalised two shots following an incident on the fifth hole…
Henley recounted an instance where Jon Rahm was penalised for a small infraction at the Memorial Tournament in 2020.
He said, “Jon Rahm at the Memorial a couple years ago on a chip on 16 where he chipped in, I think when he took the club back, the ball moved and he didn’t know it, but then they slowed it down and they penalized him for it. I remember that. I think he still won.
“But I had to call a penalty on myself last year at the Travelers. The ball moved in the rough. There are so many ways to get penalty strokes out here.”
And last year, Shane Lowry was penalized when the cameras zoomed in and in slow motion, picked up his ball moving slightly after his practice swing. There’s precedent for this, but it doesn’t make it right.
How rules are enforced in golf must change
Henley does make a good point. The most popular players are at a disadvantage because they have more cameras on them than the less well-known players in the field. There is effectively a tax on being a better player, which makes no sense.
It makes no sense commercially. The sport should want the most popular players at the top of the leaderboards, so it’s not right that these players are far more likely to receive penalties than other players.
And competitively, it’s also unfair to players like DeChambeau who have more eyes and cameras on them.
There should be a camera on every player and a rules official watching. We have the technology to do this. That way it’s fair across the field for everyone.
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