Most players move on after a penalty ruling. But Bryson DeChambeau made it clear that he had not.

During Saturday's third round at Royal Birkdale on July 19, DeChambeau hit his tee shot on the 18th hole into the rough. As he walked to his ball, he made big, exaggerated gestures to show he was being very careful not to touch anything near it.

The crowd picked up on it immediately. Golf Channel's broadcast captured the moment, with commentary noting DeChambeau was "playing it up to the crowd a little bit."

Christopher Powers of Golf.com posted the clip on X just after midnight on July 19. His caption was two words: "Cannot help himself."

The performance was a direct reference to what unfolded Friday night. DeChambeau had been assessed a two-shot penalty under Rule 8.1a after video evidence showed him inadvertently trampling long fescue grass near his ball while approaching his second shot at the par-4 fifth hole. R&A executive director of governance Grant Moir confirmed the penalty applied "even when the action was accidental."

The ruling cost DeChambeau two shots and dropped him from solo second, one back of leader Lucas Herbert at 7-under, into a tie for fifth at 5-under. What followed was a late-night spectacle. DeChambeau and Moir drove back to the fifth hole in a cart.

He confirmed after midnight that he would play Saturday. The 18th-hole crowd moment wasn't the only notable incident during his third round. DeChambeau also called over a walking official to flag that his ball had moved slightly, clarifying it was not due to anything he had done and therefore carried no penalty.

The controversy, however, has overshadowed what the numbers show has been DeChambeau's best stretch of links golf in his career.

Bryson DeChambeau links form tells a different story

The penalty incident is getting the most attention. But DeChambeau's improvement on links courses over the past year is also worth noticing.

In his first 26 rounds at The Open, from his first appearance in 2017 to the opening round at Royal Portrush in 2025, DeChambeau played 3.5 shots worse than the field average.

He missed the cut at Royal Troon in 2024 and started with a 78 at Royal Portrush in 2025. But then things changed. He shot a 65 in the second round, followed by rounds of 68 and 64 on the weekend, and finished inside the top 10.

Since that Friday at Portrush, DeChambeau has posted 14-under par across five rounds at The Open and beaten the field average by a significant margin, according to Golf Digest.

This week at Birkdale continued that trend. A 3-under 67 on Thursday was his first sub-par round at a major in 2026, after missing cuts at the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open. His second round, originally 66, was adjusted to 68 with the penalty, but it remained an impressive performance.

DeChambeau tees off Sunday three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert, still in a position to win The Open for the first time.

Bryson DeChambeau is three shots back at The Open with one round left. Can he win his first Claret Jug?

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi