Bryson DeChambeau clearly couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He stood in indignation with his arms behind his back as The Open Championship officials inspected the tall grass on the fifth hole Friday night at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
The officials were beyond the red-staked penalty area, where they eventually determined DeChambeau had trampled the rough, illegally improving the conditions for hitting his ball and resulting in a two-stroke penalty.
The ruling came after DeChambeau had already finished his round and before he signed his scorecard. It moved him from what he thought was a second-place spot on the leaderboard, one stroke behind leader Lucas Herbert, to a tie for fifth entering Saturday.
DeChambeau appeared to tell officials he would not play Saturday because of the series of events, but posted on X late Friday night, “This fires me up. Onto the weekend.”
The incident now joins a long list of wild scenes surrounding a given penalty in major championship golf history. Here are some of the others:
1958 Masters — Arnold Palmer plays second ball
Palmer’s first of four Masters titles came shrouded in controversy. On the 12th hole of the final round, Palmer thought his tee shot on the famous par-3 had embedded behind the green. However, the on-site rules official denied Palmer the relief he believed he was entitled to, forcing him to play the ball as it lay rather than drop it within one club length.
Palmer chopped at the plugged ball, moving it 18 inches, and eventually made a double bogey. Not accepting that result, he returned, took relief, played a second ball, and made par. It was allowed under Rule 3-3a at the time, which allowed a player to play a second ball if he was unsure of his rights. Tournament officials later ruled that Palmer had been entitled to relief, allowing the par to stand. That upset playing partner Ken Venturi, who argued that Palmer should have played both balls simultaneously.
Palmer went on to secure his first Green Jacket by one stroke over Doug Ford and Fred Hawkins, finishing at 4-under.
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1968 Masters — Roberto De Vicenzo signs incorrect scorecard
De Vicenzo must have been crushed when he signed his scorecard after the final round of the 1968 Masters. His card showed a 66, leaving him one stroke behind Bob Goalby, who posted a 65 and appeared set to claim the Green Jacket. If De Vicenzo had simply made up one stroke anywhere in the round, he would have forced a playoff.
Except he already had. Which made it even more painful.
De Vicenzo made a birdie on the 17th hole, but his playing partner, Tommy Aaron, mistakenly recorded it as a par. De Vicenzo failed to catch the error before signing his card.
Under the Rules of Golf, once he signed for the incorrect score, it had to stand, eliminating any chance of a playoff.
Goalby captured the only major championship of his career, and De Vicenzo never got his redemption at Augusta. He was famously heard saying, “What a stupid I am to be wrong here,” after the ruling became official.
2010 PGA Championship — Dustin Johnson grounds his club?
During the final round of the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, Johnson arrived at the 18th hole holding a one-shot lead over Bubba Watson and Martin Kaymer.
His ball came to rest in a sandy area outside the gallery ropes. It didn’t appear to be a clearly defined bunker, so Johnson grounded his club before playing the shot. However, local rules at Whistling Straits designated every sandy area on the course as a bunker, including those that looked like trampled waste areas created by spectators.
Johnson was assessed a two-stroke penalty, dropping him out of the lead. Kaymer went on to defeat Watson in a playoff to win the championship.
“It never once crossed my mind that I was in a sand trap,” said Johnson, who admitted that he did not read the supplementary rules of play distributed before the tournament that spelled out such areas as being bunkers. “I guess it’s very unfortunate. I guess the only worse thing that could have happened is if I made the putt on the last hole.”
The incident ultimately helped prompt a rule change during the 2019 modernization of the Rules of Golf, when the definition of a bunker was clarified to reduce confusion over sandy areas like the one Johnson encountered.
A PGA of America rules official speaks with Dustin Johnson on the 18th green at Whistling Straits in 2010. (Sam Greenwood / Getty Images)
2013 Masters — Tiger’s drop
During the second round at Augusta, Tiger Woods’ wedge shot on the par-5 15th hole ricocheted off the flagstick and into the water. Under the Rules of Golf, he was allowed to take a drop “as near as possible” to the spot of his previous shot. Instead, Woods dropped the ball about two yards behind the original spot, later admitting that he had intentionally done so.
He went on to bogey the hole and completed his round, signing what was later deemed to be an incorrect scorecard after he was assessed a two-stroke penalty for the illegal drop. Woods finished the tournament tied for fourth, four strokes behind champion Adam Scott.
Signing an incorrect scorecard can result in disqualification, and many called for Woods to be removed from the tournament. However, he was allowed to continue because tournament officials had not questioned him about the drop before he signed his scorecard. A rules official received a friend’s text saying they saw something they believed to be improper.
Woods’ candid admission during a post-round television interview that he intentionally altered the drop location prompted many fans to question his integrity.
He had not won a major championship since 2008. He would not capture another until his legendary comeback victory at the 2019 Masters, his fifth and final Green Jacket to date.
2016 U.S. Open — Dustin Johnson penalty hangs in air
During the final round at Oakmont, Johnson held the lead while playing under the threat of a one-stroke penalty. What had happened six years earlier was clearly in the back of his mind.
On the fifth green, Johnson saw his ball move a fraction of an inch, though he did not believe he had caused it. He immediately alerted a rules official, who determined that no penalty was warranted, allowing Johnson to continue.
However, on the 12th hole, Johnson was informed that the earlier incident was being reviewed after all and that any ruling on a potential penalty would be postponed until the conclusion of his round. Johnson was forced to play the remainder of the championship without knowing whether he would lose a stroke or not, leaving him uncertain about how large a lead he needed to build.
After he completed his round, officials assessed Johnson a one-stroke penalty, determining that grounding his club had caused the ball to move.
Fortunately for Johnson, he had built a four-stroke lead over runner-up Shane Lowry. He secured the first major championship of his career.
