Bryson DeChambeau Fights Two-Stroke Penalty at The Open 2026

Bryson DeChambeau, the American golfer, was assessed a two-stroke penalty for stomping grass at The Open 2026 on July 17, 2026.

What happened?

DeChambeau walked off the 18th green in the second round after a birdie at the last got him to 7 under, one shot back of the lead heading into the weekend at Royal Birkdale. However, R&A officials informed him they wanted to go back to the 5th hole and investigate a potential rules violation after DeChambeau's tee shot found the tall grass well right of the drivable par 4.

Why it matters for Bryson DeChambeau

Video showed DeChambeau stepping on tall grass behind his ball numerous times, appearing to purposefully stomp it down to clear a path for his swing. As he was deemed to have done that, he received a two-stroke penalty, pushing him from solo 2nd into T5 on the leaderboard, three shots back of leader Lucas Herbert.

The penalty

DeChambeau initially threatened to withdraw from The Open, though cooler heads prevailed a few hours later. He and his caddie rode out to the site with the officials, where an increasingly frustrated DeChambeau pleaded his case. Unfortunately for him, the R&A were clearly not buying his attempt at proving his innocence.

R&A executive director of governance Grant Moir confirmed the penalty after the round: "Bryson has been penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing... The area of intended swing includes the entire area that might reasonably affect any part of the backswing, the downswing or the complaining 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."

What comes next?

The ultimate result was that his bogey on the 5th became a triple bogey, and his chances of winning The Open 2026 took a significant hit. DeChambeau will need to regroup and refocus for the remainder of the tournament.

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