Former R&A rules official John Roger Jones has backed the decision to penalise Bryson DeChambeau with a two shot penalty on day 2 of play at The Open Championship, writes Ross Parry at Royal Birkdale.
The American was deemed to have inadvertently improved his lie when stood in thick grass at the par-four fifth hole on Friday.
The decision came after the two-time major champion later returned to that area of the course to review the incident with rules officials.
The review resulted in DeChambeau receiving a two-stroke penalty for the rules breach.
Former R&A rules official Roger Jones has backed the decision to penalise DeChambeau.
He told MerseySportLive: This is a “clear breach of Rule 8.1. Even inadvertent improvement of the intended area of swing is a two-stroke penalty.”
Rule 8.1 of the R&A Rules on Golf highlights that players must “play the course as you find it.” This includes the area of the player’s intended swing.
The impact of the decision saw the world number 37 fall down the leaderboard from -7 to -5, after closing out his round on day two of play at Royal Birkdale with two birdies.
DeChambeau reacted to the ruling on X. He said: “Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.”
DeChambeau will tee off at 3:30pm UK time on Saturday, alongside fellow American Sam Burns, who also finds himself at five-under-par on the leaderboard after an impressive eight-under round on Friday.
Australia’s Lucas Herbert currently leads the pack at eight-under-par, heading into moving day.
(Featured image under Alamy editorial license)
