Bryson DeChambeau has been accused of wanting to involve United States President Donald Trump during his rules controversy at The Open, multiple media reports have claimed.
The two-time major winner was handed a two-shot penalty late on Friday night after officials reviewed footage and decided he had improved the area of his backswing by flattening down some long grass on Royal Birkdale’s fifth hole.
Multiple reports claim DeChambeau allegedly threatened to call Trump during lengthy discussions with the R&A regarding the penalty, which dropped him from second place and one off the lead on Friday to tied-fifth and three back.
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Scottie Scheffler defended Ryder Cup teammate DeChambeau after he was given a two-shot penalty
Sky Sports News has contacted the R&A, the White House press office and DeChambeau’s management team for comment.
DeChambeau is a friend of Trump, serving on the President’s council on sports, fitness and nutrition, making his last White House appearance in May, and has played golf with him.
Trump asked football’s world governing body FIFA to review the red card shown to US forward Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, with the player’s one-match ban subsequently being suspended, and DeChambeau wanted a similar intervention.
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Sam Burns said that ‘there was not enough evidence’ to penalise DeChambeau
While the call did not take place at the time, it is not known whether DeChambeau made contact privately, but on Saturday R&A chief executive Mark Darbon was asked whether the President had been in touch.
“No, I have not received a call from President Trump,” he told BBC Sport. “Irrespective of which player this affected, it is the same decision – from a rules perspective it was clear cut.”
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Brandel Chamblee and Paul McGinley were critical of DeChambeau’s actions in the rough on the fifth hole
Sky Sports News understands that DeChambeau visited Darbon in the championship office after his third round on Saturday, where his request to gain possession of his scorecard from the previous day was declined.
The R&A has also yet to comment on that issue. DeChambeau is next scheduled to feature at the LIV Golf League event in England, beginning at JCB Golf and Country Club on Thursday, although he is not listed for any pre-tournament media.
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Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir delves into why DeChambeau was given a two-shot penalty
‘A lot of ups and downs’ – DeChambeau reflects on challenging week
DeChambeau making it through to the weekend ended a run of three consecutive major missed cuts and avoided the ‘Bryson Slam’ of missing all four in a season, eventually ending tied-14th and six strokes behind Ryan Fox.
The American refused to speak to the waiting media for the eighth successive major round, having also not given post-round interviews during his missed cuts at the PGA Championship and US Open.
“A lot of ups and downs this week, to say the least,” DeChambeau said on Instagram. “But I’m proud of the way I fought through it.
“Thank you to all my supporters for carrying me through. Onwards and upwards from here. Congratulations to Ryan Fox on an incredible win!”
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Rory McIlroy spoke to the media after his third round of The Open and said he was not impressed with DeChambeau’s actions
World No 1 Scheffler defended DeChambeau over the rules controversy, insisting his fellow American is “not a cheater”, while Rory McIlroy described the incident as “performative”.
“I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson,” McIlroy said on Saturday. “I’m not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it’s performative. I think a lot of it’s for attention.
“To hold the tournament hostage like that, and to have all of us, players, volunteers, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.”
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