Scheffler Defends DeChambeau After Open Penalty
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- Scottie Scheffler defended Bryson DeChambeau after the final round of The Open at Royal Birkdale, saying 'he's definitely not a cheater' despite DeChambeau receiving a two-stroke penalty Friday for improving 'the area of his intended swing' in tall grass on the fifth hole.
- The R&A's executive director of governance Grant Moir said the rule applies 'even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson's case,' while TV replays showed DeChambeau taking high steps through native area fescue behind his ball.
- DeChambeau shot 69 Saturday and 72 Sunday to finish at 4 under overall, six shots behind winner Ryan Fox.
- Scheffler posted a 3-under 67 in the final round to tie for fourth at 7 under, and echoed Russell Henley and Sam Burns in noting that golfers whose shots appear on TV more frequently face disproportionate scrutiny.
- Scheffler cited Jon Rahm's two-stroke penalty at the 2020 Memorial — where a ball moved slightly during an apparent chip-in on the par-3 16th hole — as another example of how TV replays can make borderline rule violations look more egregious than they appear in person.
- Scheffler called on players to 'police things a little bit more stricter' and return to the game's traditions, saying competitors have at times pushed boundaries further than they should.
Why it matters: Scheffler's defense of DeChambeau highlights a tension Scheffler himself names: TV camera angles manufacture the perception of cheating while players and R&A officials acknowledge most borderline actions are accidental. With Scheffler now publicly asking the sport to tighten self-enforcement, the world's top player is effectively putting governing bodies on notice that the current patchwork of post-round, replay-driven penalties isn't sustainable.
