DeChambeau’s participation in the Open in doubt after two-stroke penalty

Bryson DeChambeau’s ongoing participation in the Open Championship is in doubt after extraordinary scenes at the conclusion of the 32-year-old’s second round at Royal Birkdale.

DeChambeau was handed a two-stroke penalty for improving the line of his swing in thick rough, and the scenario prompted a furious response from the American. The sanction shifted him out of second place and an initial position of one stroke behind the leader, Lucas Herbert.

After 10pm and in darkness on the Birkdale range, DeChambeau was still pounding drives while asking waiting media if they cared for any of his snacks. He had already asked what the media thought of his swing. In 153 previous stagings, the Open had witnessed nothing akin to this. Life around DeChambeau is rarely dull.

The American appeared to have produced an excellent second round of 66. However, before signing his card he was brought into discussions with a tournament referee and Grant Moir, an executive director of the R&A. The incident in question was on the 5th, where DeChambeau was alleged to have trampled down grass behind his ball before playing. He is understood to have insisted upon a return to the scene – including with club in hand – to prove his innocence.

Shortly before 9pm, DeChambeau cut an increasingly furious figure as it was made plain to him the penalty would stand. The two-time major winner appeared to tell the officials he would not play in the third round.

Mark Darbon, the chief executive of the R&A, joined the talks after DeChambeau returned to the scoring area. The player emerged, moments before his aggregate score on the Open leaderboard was changed from seven to five under par. DeChambeau’s five at the 5th was modified to a seven.

When asked by the Guardian whether he would tee up on Saturday, DeChambeau said: “I’m going to practise, guys.” A member of his management team confirmed to journalists at the rear of the Birkdale range that his client’s ongoing role in this tournament is uncertain. DeChambeau clearly feels wronged.

Moir insisted via a statement that there was no sense of the American acting deliberately but that the punishment was appropriate. “Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, so intended backswing on the 5th hole when he was playing his second shot,” said Moir.

“Ruling 1 restricts what a player may do to improve any of the protected conditions affecting the stroke and this includes the area of the player’s intended swing. So an improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke. Now, I’ll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson’s case.

“The area of intended swing includes the entire area that might reasonably affect any part of the backswing, the downswing or the completion of the swing for the intended stroke, and importantly, what the prohibited action here is that the player mustn’t move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object.

“A player is allowed to fairly take their stance by taking reasonable actions to get to the ball and take a stance, if in some situations that improves the condition affecting the stroke, but when doing so, the player must take the least intrusive course of action to deal with the particular situation and is not entitled to a normal stance or swing.

“I would reiterate this rule applies even when there’s no intention to improve the area, as was the case with Bryson.”

That DeChambeau headed for a range session, which concluded at 10.30pm, at least suggested he has some notion of playing on. For now, though, his position is ambiguous. The penalty knocked DeChambeau out of day three’s final group.

Jon Rahm’s throwing of a club on the 15th tee paled into insignificance amid the DeChambeau drama. Rahm received a warning, meaning he will also be penalised by two strokes if something similar occurs in the closing half of the Open. “I shouldn’t have moments like the one on 15, I get it,” said Rahm.

Herbert had missed from 5ft on the final green, which meant he did not make history as the first man to shoot 61 in a major. Herbert had to settle for the 36-hole lead. Jackson Suber, the surprise package of this Open, is alongside Ryan Gerard and Cameron Young at six under. DeChambeau has Sam Burns – who, like Herbert, shot 62 – and Kim Si-woo for company at minus five. Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre retains live hopes of a maiden major win at four under.

At 10.40pm, Justin Thomas publicly bemoaned the fact Saturday’s tee times had still not been released. Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick missed the cut in an Open both had been heavily fancied for. Jordan Spieth, Brian Harman, Joaquin Niemann, Wyndham Clark and Cameron Smith also made early exits from the Sefton coast. Will DeChambeau do likewise? Only time will tell.