Bryson DeChambeau was given a two-stroke penalty after his second round at the British Open on July 18, 2026. Officials ruled he had trampled long grass near his ball on the fifth hole, which was deemed to have improved his lie, a violation of the rules [1, 2, 3].
DeChambeau had finished the round with a four-under 66 and was one shot off the lead before the penalty was applied. After the strokes were added, he dropped to three shots behind overnight leader Lucas Herbert going into the weekend rounds [1, 2, 3].
R&A chief executive Mark Darbon described the penalty as a "clear-cut decision." He acknowledged the emotional reaction from DeChambeau but emphasized the importance of a fair ruling. "It was an unfortunate decision but really clear-cut from a rules perspective," Darbon said. He added he had not received any calls about the penalty from former U.S. President Donald Trump [1, 2, 3].
DeChambeau responded on social media, saying the penalty "fired him up" for the remainder of the tournament, and there was unconfirmed speculation that he might withdraw, which he did not [1, 2, 3].
American golfer Russell Henley expressed sympathy for DeChambeau, suggesting that his prominence on television may have contributed to the penalty. Henley said, "The issue with that to me is the fact that he's on TV every shot. If I played that hole yesterday and I did the same thing, maybe they don't penalise me because maybe they don't see me do it. That's the tough part; he's on TV every single shot" [2, 3].
DeChambeau is scheduled to tee off for his third round at 15:30 BST (14:30 GMT) today.
