Bryson DeChambeau Penalty Blows Up at Birkdale

An exciting day of golf turned into a full-on spectacle Friday night at Royal Birkdale when the R&A assessed Bryson DeChambeau a two-shot penalty at the 2026 Open Championship after his second round for improving the area of his intended swing.

The incident occurred on the fifth hole, where DeChambeau hit his tee shot well right into the native area beyond the pond.

In the camera angles published so far, DeChambeau can be seen arriving at his ball and stepping behind it before addressing and playing the shot. From the publicly available footage, it is difficult to discern exactly where the ball lies in relation to where he walks, but DeChambeau took a stance and hit his approach long and left of the green. He ended up making a bogey. He was not informed until after the round that a potential penalty had occurred.

DeChambeau closed his round with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18 to sign for what he believed was a 4-under 66, moving into second place and Saturday’s final pairing. But minutes later, the R&A asked DeChambeau to review footage of the incident. They ended up carting DeChambeau back to the fifth hole to go over what had transpired several hours earlier.

His agent, Brett Falkoff, later said it was DeChambeau’s idea to revisit the hazard area.

A heated conversation ensued between DeChambeau and several rules officials before the R&A ultimately determined that a rules violation had occurred and informed him he would be assessed a two-shot penalty under Rule 8.1, which involved “improving conditions affecting the stroke.” His bogey five on the fifth hole became a triple-bogey seven, dropping him from one shot behind the lead to three and from solo second into a tie for fifth.

After being informed of the penalty, DeChambeau appeared to mouth: “I’m not playing tomorrow” to the rules officials.

After returning from the fifth hole, DeChambeau spent an additional 30 minutes in scoring with the R&A. When he finally emerged, a scene unfolded over the next 90 minutes that was at times tense, at times humorous, and entirely surreal. DeChambeau would not answer questions as he walked through a throng of media — including questions about whether he truly planned to withdraw — but headed toward the driving range.

“How is everyone doing tonight?” DeChambeau said. “I’m doing great. I’m going to hit some golf balls.”

As DeChambeau was setting up on the range, the R&A was holding a brief press conference where Grant Moir explained the ruling, stating that any improvement to the area of a player’s intended swing — in this case, DeChambeau’s backswing — is prohibited regardless of intent. Moir added that DeChambeau did not intend to improve the area of his intended swing with his actions but intent is irrelevant under this rule.

The specific illegal action in this case, Moir said, was that “the player mustn’t move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object.” He added that “the player must take the least intrusive course of action” to take a stance that may affect the stroke and that they are “not entitled to a normal stance or swing.” In the R&A’s judgment, DeChambeau’s actions violated the rule and warranted a two-shot penalty.

The ruling was first confirmed when his score was officially changed on the Open’s digital leaderboards to a seven. Social media erupted — with jokes, outrage, memes, and disbelief. Golf Channel honed in on what was becoming one of the most significant penalties in recent major championship history.

“For me, it’s a clear breach,” Paul McGinley stated.

Brandel Chamblee added, “There were multiple infractions here. He just danced all over it…He did everything but lay down behind it or take a weed whacker to the tall grass behind it.”

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As social media was becoming a firestorm, DeChambeau began hitting balls at the far corner of the driving range. He hummed and whistled as he pounded balls into the increasingly darkening sky.

Falkoff initially said he did not want to comment, but then agreed to talk for a few minutes as his frustration mounted.

“The only comment I’ll make is [rules officials] said they felt he was not careful walking around a sensitive area around his golf ball,” Falkoff said. “They felt that he improved his swing path when his swing path was not anywhere near the grass they felt that he had walked on. He went left of the hole. It’s a totally different direction. Apparently in this case, the player is not given the benefit of doubt.”

Falkoff was asked directly if DeChambeau was still deciding whether or not he was going to play on Saturday.

“We’ll see if he shows up late tomorrow afternoon,” Falkoff said. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

Asked if he would encourage DeChambeau to play, Falkoff said it would be entirely up to DeChambeau. “He’s a big boy,” he said. “He’ll see how he feels. But he certainly feels he was unfairly penalized.

“It’s really unfortunate,” Falkoff said. “Bryson is a lot of things. He is not a cheater.”

As Falkoff spoke, DeChambeau continued hitting balls, pausing periodically to look at swing positions on his phone. He was even playful with the assembled media watching him from the fence line.

“What do you guys think of my swing right now?” DeChambeau quipped.

After hitting another dozen balls, he called out to the media again.

“Are you guys hungry? I’ve got snacks. I’ve got almonds. I’ve got a beef stick,” DeChambeau said.

At 10:28 p.m., DeChambeau hit his final golf ball. It was completely dark except for the glow of the scoreboard. He handed a signed glove to one of the security guards watching his range session (who seemed to be confused by the gift) and politely declined one last interview request.

Falkoff said DeChambeau will have right up until his tee time to decide if he’s going to play or withdraw in protest. As he left the range, he declined an interview request from Golf Channel. “Nah, I’m good guys,” he said.

Golf Channel reporter Todd Lewis tossed one more question at him.

“Are you gonna play tomorrow?”

DeChambeau ignored the question. He headed for the parking lot, clearly enjoying the theater of it all, leaving it a mystery (for the moment) about what might happen in the morning. But at 12:02 a.m., he sent out a message from his X account that seemed to provide the final word on the controversy:

"Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.”