Bryson DeChambeau stepped onto the first tee at Royal Birkdale for his third round at The Open Championship on Saturday following a two-stroke penalty row.
The LIV Golf star had threatened to pull out of the major championship after rules officials penalized him during Friday's second round. He dropped to three shots behind overnight leaders Ryan Fox and Lucas Herbert after his second-round score of 66 was adjusted to a 68.
DeChambeau backed away from his initial threat to withdraw following a heated argument with officials. He later posted on social media that he would return to contest the third round. He took the tee at his scheduled 3:30pm local time (10:30am ET) to start his round.
Fan reaction and third round start
British spectators gathered around the first tee gave DeChambeau a warm reception despite the drama from the previous day. The crowd cheered and applauded loudly as he was announced to start his round.
His opening tee shot landed left of the fairway in the rough, similar to his Friday drive on the fifth hole. However, the grass was less dense, allowing him to hit the green and record a par without further incident.
The round marks the first time this year that DeChambeau has made the weekend cut at a major tournament. He previously missed the cut at the Masters, the PGA Championship, and the US Open.
Penalty dispute on the fifth hole
The penalty incident occurred during Friday's second round on the fifth hole of the course. Officials notified DeChambeau after television coverage flagged a potential rules violation.
DeChambeau insisted on taking a golf buggy back to the fifth hole to confront two rules officials over the call. He argued intensely with officials before chief referee Grant Moir clarified the decision.
Broadcast footage showed DeChambeau stepping through deep rough and placing his right foot directly behind his golf ball. The action flattened the surrounding fescue grass, creating an easier path for his backswing.
Chief referee Grant Moir detailed the rule breach that led to the two-shot penalty in the 154th edition of the tournament.
Bryson has been penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, so intended backswing on the 5th hole when he was playing his second shot,
Moir said.
Ruling 1 restricts what a player may do to improve any of the protected conditions affecting the stroke, and this includes the area of the player's intended swing. So an improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke. Now, I'll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson's case.
Before taking the tee on Saturday, DeChambeau took a swipe at tournament organizers the R&A on social media. On Friday night, he posted photos on Instagram that had been edited to show him hovering above the links course grass.