In the second round of the 2026 British Open Championship, Bryson DeChambeau made a last-minute birdie to move to 7 under par and one stroke behind the leader as he stepped off the 18th green, pumping his fist and waving to the crowd heading into Royal Birkdale this weekend. Or so he thought.
As DeChambeau headed to the scoring area, he was met by R&A officials who told him that his tee shot had hit the high grass to the right of the driveable par four and that he would like to return to the fifth hole to investigate a possible rule violation.
The video showed DeChambeau repeatedly stepping on the high grass behind the ball, appearing to intentionally stomp the grass to ensure the path of his swing. Because he was found to have committed this act, he received a two-stroke penalty and moved from second place to tied for fifth place, three strokes behind the leader, Lucas Herbert.
As a result, DeChambeau initially threatened to withdraw from the British Open, but within hours a calmer opinion prevailed.
DeChambeau and his caddy rode to the scene with officials, where a frustrated DeChambeau filed a lawsuit. Unfortunately for him, the R&A apparently did not accept his attempts to prove his innocence. This story produced some great scenes where it’s hard to understand what’s going on even without audio.
Despite DeChambeau’s best efforts and wild gestures, he was unable to sway the referee into giving him a penalty. Officials returned to the scoring area, where a lengthy discussion ensued with DeChambeau, his caddy, and his agent.
The R&A’s executive director of governance, Grant Moir, confirmed the penalty after the round.
“Bryson was given a two-stroke penalty for inadvertently improving the area of the player’s intended swing. …Rule 1 limits what a player can do to improve protected conditions that affect the stroke, including: Improvement therefore means changing one or more circumstances affecting the stroke so that the player can gain a potential advantage over it. We would like to emphasize here that this also applies if the action was accidental.
“The area of the intended swing includes the entire area that could reasonably affect the backswing, downswing, or swing dissatisfaction of the intended stroke. And importantly, the action prohibited here is that the player must not move, bend, or break any natural object that grows or is attached to it. If circumstances warrant, a player may take a stance fairly by taking reasonable steps to reach the ball and take a stance, but in doing so, the player must do the bare minimum.”We reiterate that this is an intrusive action to deal with a particular situation and does not entitle a player to take a normal stance or swing, but this rule also applies when, as in Bryson’s case, there is no intention to improve the area. ”
The final result was a triple bogey on No. 5, and a round of 66 turned into a 68. With this, he fell from 2nd place with 7 under to 5 under and tied for 5th with Sam Burns and Si Woo Kim. That’s a huge difference midway through the tournament, and regardless of what DeChambeau does on Saturday and Sunday, the penalty decision will quickly become one of the biggest storylines of the weekend.
If he wins, he will overcome a rules decision he believes to be harsh and unfair, but it’s not hard to see what rules officials saw in the video. A two-stroke penalty would be an even bigger story if he finished a shot or two behind the lead, and many would speculate that the penalty shook DeChambeau’s concentration if he fell back and slowed his pace.
