The flashpoint in the Bryson DeChambeau and Donald Trump Open penalty controversy came in round two of The Open Championship, when Bryson DeChambeau, 32, was docked two strokes after treading on thick rough behind his ball at the fifth, which officials judged had bettered his swing path.
He contested the ruling forcefully, going so far as to demand a trip back to the spot accompanied by a senior referee and the governing body’s governance chief.
Bryson DeChambeau reportedly threatened to call Donald Trump during an Open Championship penalty disagreement
The trek changed nothing. Once the group returned to the scoring area, chief executive Mark Darbon stepped into the discussion. It was reportedly at this point that he said he intended to ring Trump if things did not go his way. No proof has emerged that any such call was ever made.
The Bryson DeChambeau Trump friendship is no secret. The two share regular contact, and cameras caught a cordial moment between them at last year’s Ryder Cup, an event before which the golfer predicted the president would lift the American side at Bethpage. The governing body has stayed silent on the reported episode.
Not everyone in the sport sided with him. Rory Mcllory later said the ruling had been entirely correct. The two shots dropped him from the second spot, and the dispute did not end there. Following Saturday’s play, he reportedly went straight to the chief executive’s office seeking his round two scorecard, a request that was declined.
He wound up tied for 14th, his best major showing of the year, and has stayed on in Britain for a LIV Golf event starting Thursday. Throughout The Open Championship, the golfer sidestepped his usual mainstream media duties, leaving the story to unfold through officials and reporting rather than his own words.
His representatives have been contacted for comment, and he has not publicly addressed the claim. For now, the Bryson De Chambeau and Trump storyline shows no sign of fading.
TELL US, DO YOU THINK BRYSON DECHAMBEAU’S TWO-SHOT PENALTY WAS FAIR? AND WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF THE REPORTED ATTEMPT TO BRING DONALD TRUMP INTO IT?
