SOUTHPORT, England – At the end of another unusual day toward the end of another bizarre week, Bryson DeChambeau was preparing to finish out Saturday when a few cries rang out around the 18th green at Royal Birkdale.
“Bryson, you cheat!”
“The rough can’t help you now!”
“F--k the R&A!”
It was that kind of afternoon for DeChambeau, who had thrust himself into another controversy a day earlier when he received a two-shot penalty for improving the area surrounding his ball. The penalty dropped him three places on the leaderboard and touched off a firestorm online, fueled by DeChambeau himself, who made the unusual request to return to the fifth hole to plead his case, threatened officials that he’d withdraw from the tournament, and then didn’t signal his intention to actually play until nearly midnight local time, holding up Round 3 pairings for the rest of the field.
DeChambeau bogeyed the last hole Saturday to card a 1-under 69, leaving him four shots behind Sam Burns. Sitting in a tie for sixth, it’s DeChambeau’s best-ever position heading into the final day of The Open.
After signing his card, DeChambeau headed directly into the R&A championship office and was seen having an animated discussion with CEO Mark Darbon. It’s understood that DeChambeau was asking for his second-round scorecard for reasons that were not immediately known. When his request was denied, he left the office and briefly returned to the scoring tent, apparently to no avail.
After a few moments inside, DeChambeau walked past the waiting media – his eighth consecutive major round without speaking to reporters – and headed to the range for another session.
Despite the debate raging online about whether DeChambeau’s penalty was justified, his third round at Birkdale didn’t possess the same energy. He made only one birdie through the first 14 holes but seemed poised to mount a charge late, stuffing his tee shot on the par-3 15th and sinking a slippery 10-footer on 17. But on the home hole, DeChambeau drove waywardly to the left, and his approach skittered over the green. He hit a so-so pitch to 10 feet and left his par putt short. He’s the only player currently inside the top 10 who has won a major championship.
The final-hole bogey didn’t appear to dampen his showman spirit. On his way to scoring, DeChambeau tossed a ball into the stands and posed for a few selfies with fans who were positioned behind the clubhouse fence.
Still, DeChambeau’s theatrics late Friday overshadowed the third round of The Open. Players were asked not just about the infraction but also the sideshow that accompanied it. Scottie Scheffler, who was grouped with DeChambeau for the first two rounds, said that he had “a ton to say” on the matter but wasn’t ready to do so publicly. Rory McIlroy, however, was more forthcoming, saying that he was “not particularly fond” of DeChambeau and that his behavior was “performative” and “for attention,” and that he’d held “the tournament hostage.”
“I didn’t feel like it was a good look,” McIlroy said.