'Had There Been Any Doubt, He Would Have Been Given It' - Was Bryson DeChambeau Treated Unfairly Following Open Rules Controversy?
Bryson DeChambeau caught the attention of The R&A during round two of The Open Championship, but were the events which followed his round fair?
A day which started with Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns equalling the lowest 18-hole score ever in a men's Major ended with Bryson DeChambeau and a spot of rules controversy.
On the fifth hole of round two at The Open, footage showed DeChambeau standing on tall grass a yard or two behind his golf ball in the right rough.
Nothing was mentioned by The R&A at the time, although more than a few people on social media noted the incident looked curious to say the least.
Then, shortly after DeChambeau had pulled within one of the lead on the 18th hole, the two-time Major winner was shown a replay of his potential misdemeanor and asked to give his take on what happened.
DeChambeau and Grant Moir drove out to the spot of the aforementioned incident and exchanged words at the site before returning to the rules tent for an extended conversation.
Understandably, perhaps, the American was frustrated at the suggestion he may have even accidentally improved the area of his intended swing and set about making his case to R&A rules official Moir by the fifth.
Ultimately, despite DeChambeau's protestation, it was decided he had inadvertently improved the area of his intended swing and he was assessed a two-stroke penalty.
That apparently caused the 32-year-old to even suggest he would consider pulling out of The Open before round three began, although he later appeared to change his mind.
Writing on social media late on Friday evening, DeChambeau said: "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."
Many of DeChambeau's fans retained their support of the monster-driving LIV man and some even accused The R&A of being part of an anti-DeChambeau agenda alongside golf's other governing bodies.
They claimed that no other players would have been dragged out to where the incident occurred and asked to explain themselves before heading all the way back to the rules tent for a further conversation.
Other fans were adamant The R&A did the right thing and were just following protocols which have been in place long before DeChambeau was a pro golfer.
What do you think? Was DeChambeau treated unfairly in the wake of his rules controversy?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments. For now, three of our tour experts have had their say.
NT: Absolutely not. I’ve found it interesting to hear the emerging narrative about how golf’s ruling bodies have an anti-Bryson agenda. I don’t believe it.
The first thing to remember is the ruling has nothing to do with the person involved. Any golfer in this situation would have been treated the same. The video footage shows him standing on the long grass behind the ball on the line of the shot.
Had there been any doubt, Bryson would have been given it. Sadly, the histrionics and the threat of not playing may have cost him the goodwill of many of the fans.
EH: There is part of me that thinks DeChambeau was treated unfairly, as it's hard to imagine every single player in the field getting the same treatment.
Lower-profile players do not have anywhere near as many cameras on them so there's every chance that something similar may have happened with other competitors this week. That is something that just comes with being such a big star.
However, I believe the rule was implemented correctly and The R&A did very well with the messaging by telling media that it was accidental and making sure he took no blame or received any accusations.
He definitely could have handled it better by accepting it and admitting he made a mistake, and I also feel he should have spoken to reporters to give his side of the story. Was he a bit unlucky? Yes. Was it unfair? I don't think so.
JL: I don't think Bryson DeChambeau was treated unfairly at all. The R&A officials simply walked through the exact process in the way they would have had it involved any other player.
It seems to me The R&A couldn't care less about reputation or personality. It operates with the game of golf at the forefront of its mind, not any one player or group of stars. I'd argue the fact the prize money is still relatively low compared with the other three Majors is evidence of that.
DeChambeau was invited to give his take on what happened at the original site because from the replays on offer, frankly, it didn't look like he was completely in the clear.
When he was shown the replay - which to me looks pretty damning - he could and probably should have looked at it with an open mind and just said "yeah, you know what, I did not mean to do that at all but I can see how it looks so I'll take the penalty."
I think you could argue The R&A actually did DeChambeau a favor by reiterating the ruling was made due to an accidental action rather than a deliberate one so as to avoid any further fallout.
Only DeChambeau knows whether he truly meant to improve his chances of a good swing there, but there's no small part of me that even considers the way he was treated on Friday was unfair.
What do you think about how the situation was handled? Let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.