SOUTHPORT, England — Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, stepped forward Sunday to defend fellow American Bryson DeChambeau, declaring him “definitely not a cheater” following a two-stroke penalty that damaged DeChambeau’s chances at the British Open.
Tournament officials handed down the penalty after DeChambeau completed his second-round 66 on Friday, determining that he had unintentionally improved his swing path on the fifth hole after his drive landed in the rough.
DeChambeau was transported back to the location of the incident in a golf cart, where he engaged in a heated exchange with an official. Rory McIlroy publicly described DeChambeau’s reaction as “performative.”
The penalty had a significant impact on the standings. Rather than sitting just one shot behind the leader heading into the weekend, DeChambeau entered his third round three strokes back. He managed a 69 on Saturday to stay within range, but his challenge unraveled Sunday when he posted a two-over 72 to close out the tournament.
Scheffler had largely stayed quiet on the matter throughout the week, but spoke up after his own bid to defend his Open title came to an end Sunday. He finished with a 67, leaving him tied for fourth place.
“I’ve been really focused on the tournament,” Scheffler told reporters. “All I can really say is I think maybe we need to be a little bit more strict in the way that we are policing guys.”
He went on to note the unique scrutiny that high-profile players face. “Certain guys like Bryson who every shot he hits is going to be shown on TV. When you have camera angles that are far away, things can look different than they do when you’re there,” Scheffler said.
“I hate saying stuff out here because I don’t want anything to get taken out of context. All I’ll say is Bryson, I’ve known him for a long time and he’s a lot of things, but he’s definitely not a cheater,” he added.
The R&A, golf’s governing body for the event, maintained that the ruling was straightforward, pointing to footage showing DeChambeau appearing to flatten some long grass near where his ball had come to rest. However, officials stopped short of suggesting he had intentionally tried to gain an unfair advantage.
Scheffler drew on his long history with DeChambeau to back up his defense. “I’ve never seen him cheat once, whether we were having a putting contest on the putting green or chipping contest, or anytime we played amateur golf, I never saw anything suspicious,” he said.
“Maybe he was a touch careless around his ball but I don’t think he did anything intentionally,” Scheffler concluded.
