One week after a memorable appearance in the Open Championship, Bryson DeChambeau has spoken about the two-stroke penalty and coming up short in his quest to win the event for the first time in his career.
Speaking to reporters from the LIV Golf UK event, DeChambeau said he felt like he would have been “right there for the Claret Jug” if not for the penalty and his struggles on two specific holes throughout the weekend at Royal Birkdale:
“Yeah, I made the cut. It was a good fight. I wish I’d have given it more on Saturday and Sunday; it felt like I could have. Besides the fifth, being three over on it, and the 11th, that’s six shots. That’s tied for the lead right there. Two holes and I’m right there for the Claret Jug.”
DeChambeau initially went into the clubhouse after the second round in second place at seven-under par, one shot behind leader Lucas Herbert.
However, before signing his scorecard, DeChambeau was informed of a potential rules violating stemming from a situation on the fifth hole when officials contended he improved his lie by standing on some of the long grass to flatten it after hitting his drive.
The situation led to a heated moment during which DeChambeau and officials were looking at the area where the violation was said to have occurred.
DeChambeau dropped into a tie for fifth as a result of the penalty and his agent, Brett Falkoff, told reporters his client was debating whether or not to continue in the tournament after feeling like he was wrongly penalized.
The 32-year-old DeChambeau ultimately finished out the tournament, but he was unable to repeat his performance from the first two rounds. He did finish with a one-under par 69 on Saturday, but a final-round triple-bogey on No. 11 resulted in a 72 that moved him to four-under overall.
DeChambeau settled for a tie for 14th place with three other players. It was his fifth time finishing outside the top 10 in seven career Open Championship appearances.
