Bryson DeChambeau assessed two-stroke penalty for improving lie during second round of 2026 British Open
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Bryson DeChambeau receives a two-stroke penalty during the second round of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
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SOUTHPORT, England – Bryson DeChambeau was assessed a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie during the second round of The Open Championship.
The R&A deemed that DeChambeau improved his lie before hitting his second shot at the par-4 fifth. As a result, DeChambeau’s score on the hole was changed from bogey to triple bogey, which dropped his round from 4-under 66 to 68. After the penalty, DeChambeau was 5-under for the tournament, tied for fifth.
DeChambeau was informed of the penalty after the round, which prompted The R&A and DeChambeau to return to the fifth hole to analyze the scene. DeChambeau was seen passionately stating his case to no avail. The interaction lasted around 15 minutes.
Grant Moir, the executive director of governance for The R&A, explained that the penalty under Rule 8-1 applied "even when the action was accidental, as it was in Bryson's case."
"What the prohibited action here is that the player mustn't move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object," Moir told reporters. "A player is allowed to fairly take their stance by taking reasonable actions to get to the ball and take a stance ... 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."
DeChambeau originally made bogey at the par-4 fifth. He drove his ball well right into the penalty area but believed it was playable. He was seen taking practice swings and walking back and forth near his ball before hacking it out long of the green. He failed to get up and down from there and made bogey. That was his last bogey of the day. He made birdies at the ninth, 11th, 17th and 18th holes to rocket up the leaderboard.
The penalty changed the complexion of the tournament significantly. DeChambeau was set to play alongside Lucas Herbert in Saturday’s final pairing. Now he trails by three strokes, tied with Sam Burns and Si Woo Kim.
