Bryson DeChambeau threatened to quit The Open after a two-shot penalty for accidentally flattening some grass

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Bryson DeChambeau's second round at Royal Birkdale ended in genuine chaos on Friday. He had just carded a brilliant four under 66 to move to seven under, one shot off the lead, when Open Championship officials pulled him aside in the scoring tent with questions about his second shot on the par four fifth hole

Officials had reviewed footage showing DeChambeau appearing to walk through hip high fescue behind his ball and stomp it flat before playing his shot out of the rough. He was taken back out to the fifth hole by rules chief Grant Moir and several officials for an animated on site discussion, at one point bringing a club to demonstrate his stance and insisting the flattened grass was not actually in his intended swing path, just where he stood to get a sightline to the hole

Officials weren't convinced, and DeChambeau was assessed a two stroke penalty under Rule 8.1a for improving the area of his intended swing, turning his bogey on the fifth into a triple bogey and dropping his round from 66 to 68. Moir was explicit that intent doesn't matter under the rule, an improvement means altering conditions affecting the stroke so the player gains a potential advantage, and that applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson's case

DeChambeau, now tied for fifth at five under and three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert, went straight to the range afterward and, according to his agent, seriously considered not teeing off for Saturday's third round in protest. He ultimately confirmed he would play, calling the decision disappointing on social media, while golf analysts including Brandel Chamblee were sharply critical of his conduct in the moment. It's a rough break for a two time major champion who has struggled all season, having missed the cut at the Masters and gone quiet at the other two majors before this surprisingly strong start at Birkdale

Bryson DeChambeau's Open Championship rules controversy, explainedgolf.com

[RandyOrton26]

The rule not caring about intent at all is what makes this genuinely rough, everyone seems to agree he didn't mean to gain an advantage but the letter of the law doesn't care about that distinction

[DeadChat]

Threatening to withdraw over a two shot penalty feels like a massive overreaction, especially since he was still very much in contention afterward at five under

[BrokenDave72]

Bringing a club out to the fifth hole to physically demonstrate his stance to the officials is such a specifically Bryson way to argue a rules dispute, very on brand for how methodically he approaches everything