Bryson DeChambeau rules controversy sent The Open into chaos and absurdity

If everything had gone normal at The Open Championship on Friday at Royal Birkdale, Bryson DeChambeau would be cruising into the weekend to make Nick Faldo and the haters eat their words, paired with Lucas Herbert in the final group. But instead of being one stroke off the lead and feeling terrific about the way he’d played through 36 holes, DeChambeau instead found himself front and center of a rules controversy.

Specifically, the R&A (the governing body that hosts The Open Championship) was investigating whether or not DeChambeau should be assessed a two-stroke penalty for improving his swing path in the rough on the fifth hole. And what resulted was an absurd investigation, including officials and DeChambeau driving back to the fifth hole and trying to determine whether or not a penalty needed to be assessed.

What exactly was the rules controversy with Bryson DeChambeau?

On the fifth hole of his second round at The Open, DeChambeau blasted his tee shot wide right into the long grass of the native area. He then walked up to the ball and all around it before taking some practice swings and then hitting his second shot greenside. Originally, he went on to make bogey on the hole, which was actually the only blemish on his scorecard for his Friday round.

After the fact, however, video of DeChambeau’s setup for his second shot began circulating. There were allegations that he stepped around behind the ball and ultimately improved his swing path by matting down some of the long grass behind the ball, in addition to some investigation about his practice swings from there on top of that.

Here’s a look at the pre-shot routine and the R&A officials with DeChambeau investigating the matter on the fifth hole after the round, shown simultaneously:

Based on DeChambeau’s reactions during the post-round conversation and investigation with the R&A, it seemed like he would be assessed a penalty. And eventually, he was, taking the two-stroke penalty and going from 7-under and one shot back of the 36-hole lead to 5-under and three shots back, no longer in the final group.

And while the ruling, if there was any real doubt about whether or not DeChambeau improved his lie, was the right call, the whole scene ventured into absurdity with how everything transpired.

The Open experimented with absurdism when ruling on Bryson DeChambeau’s penalty

I’m not here to litigate whether the penalty was the right call or not, though obviously DeChambeau absolutely had the right to plead his case. What I will unabashedly criticize, though, is how circuis-like the R&A made this at The Open Championship.

Going back out to the proverbial scene of the crime while play was still finishing up in the second round is some wild behavior in itself. Even if it’s not unprecedented, it created a spectacle, especially with someone who has the notoriety of DeChambeau at the heart of a potential rules controversy. It then went even further beyond that as well.

During the USA Network broadcast while they were continuing to wait for answers, they put up a ticker. And more than an hour after DeChambeau had finished his round, the R&A still had not handed down an official ruling about whether or not a penalty would be assessed. Call me old-fashioned, but a ruling, even if complicated, shouldn’t take that long. And in this case, even if DeChambeau was making a compelling case for his side of the argument, the letter of the law/rule was what was being looked at, and DeChambeau was guilty of the infraction.

If that wasn’t enough, DeChambeau had his own part in the ludicrous proceedings. During one part of the reenactment with the R&A, it seemed as if the LIV Golf star said the phrase, “I’m just not going to play tomorrow!”

After the ruling was handed down, DeChambeau didn’t speak to reporters but did make a beeline for the range and off-handedly told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis that he was going to go hit some balls. So it does seem like he’s not going to take his ball and go home after the penalty.

Whatever the outcome, though, none of this is a good luck. The R&A will surely be scrutinized, not only for handing out the two-stroke penalty when there was some doubt about the situation, but for how they also handled the whole ordeal. DeChambeau, likewise, will take some heat for the infraction. And golf officials at large will also get some of the fodder, particularly the USGA, who some fans posited was a little more lenient on Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open regarding a similar move that could’ve improved his swing path.

None of that is good for the game of golf, and for what has been an electric Open Championship to this point. Hopefully the golf is good enough over the final 36 holes to make us forget. Hopefully Bryson DeChambeau doesn’t come up two strokes short of the Claret Jug to make this an even bigger story. But that’s now all in play, where this is the defining story of the year’s final major championship.

While the rules need to be followed and upheld, doing so in the center of a three-ring circuis isn’t at all the proper way to handle it.

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