Bryson DeChambeau believes he would have been “right there for the Claret Jug” if he had not received a two-shot penalty in The Open Championship last week at Royal Birkdale.
DeChambeau made a positive start to last week’s tournament after opening with a 67 and then a 66 on Friday, but his second-round score was later adjusted to 68 after he was handed a retrospective two-stroke penalty at the fifth hole.
The 32-year-old was punished after match officials ruled he had improved the area of his backswing by standing on and flattening some long grass after a video review.
DeChambeau was in the mix at the top of the leaderboard, but he dropped from second to fifth in the standings after his bogey was subsequently turned into a triple bogey.
The American protested the decision and even threatened to pull out of the tournament, but he played through the weekend and carded a third round of 69 before a final day 72.
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Ryan Fox clinched victory to claim his first-ever major championship at 10 under, and DeChambeau finished six shots back at four under, but he feels the two-shot penalty played a pivotal role in his weekend.
DeChambeau is now playing in LIV Golf UK at the JCB Golf and Country Club, and he told a press conference: “Yeah, I made the cut.
“It was a good fight. I wish I’d have given it more on Saturday and Sunday; it felt like I could have. Besides the fifth, being three over on it, and the 11th, that’s six shots. That’s tied for the lead right there.
“Two holes and I’m right there for the Claret Jug.”
After missing the cut in his previous three major championships, DeChambeau’s tied 14th-place finish gave him his strongest performance in a major since he came runner-up to Scottie Scheffler at the 2025 PGA Championship.
