Bryson DeChambeau received a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie at The Open Championship. Wyndham Clark did not receive a two-stroke penalty for a similar incident at the U.S. Open.
Is there a double standard?
DeChambeau’s agent does not understand why the golf officials ruled one situation differently than the other. His client and Clark did the exact same thing with different outcomes.
Bryson DeChambeau received a two-stroke penalty at The Open Championship.
It seemed as though DeChambeau was going to enter the weekend in the final group at -7. He was one stroke back from Lucas Herbert at the conclusion of the second round on Friday night.
However, as the 32-year-old went to sign his scorecard, the R&A informed him of a potential rules violation that would trigger a two-stroke penalty. DeChambeau was not happy. He and the rules official hopped in a golf cart and returned to the scene of the crime. They argued back and forth on whether or not his behavior on the fifth hole was in violation of Rule 8.1.
The R&A ultimately determined that Bryson DeChambeau, whether intentional or not, did improve his lie before his second shot. He was forced to accept a two-shot penalty and dropped from second on the leaderboard at -7 to a tie for fifth at -5.
Although the decision did not go over well with the DeChambeau camp, he ultimately decided to play the rest of the weekend. There was a brief moment where it looked like he was going to withdraw from the tournament in defiance of the ruling.
Not long after the decision was made, DeChambeau went out to hit balls on the range. It was a strange sequence of events that took more than an hour to sort out.
Did Wyndham Clark improve his lie at the U.S. Open?
While Bryson DeChambeau tried to dial back in for rounds three and four, his agent continued to protest on his behalf. He raised questions about a similar occurrence at the U.S. Open at the end of June.
Wyndham Clark, who went on to win the tournament by only one stroke, took an unusual approach to his practice swing on the 15th hole during the final round. It appeared as though he used his club to push down on the grass behind his ball to help his lie.
Did Wyndham Clark bend the rules here?!? He never touches the grass on this mysterious practice swing. I have never seen another player make this type of practice swing in my golfing days. You be the judge. pic.twitter.com/7h0fnE89JV
— Brent Henley (@BRENTHENLEY) June 22, 2026
Even if it was not intentional, Clark very clearly brushed back the fescue on his practice swing and quickly blasted the ball out of the grass before it could bounce back. Here’s another look:
Is this a penalty by Wyndham Clark at US Open? He brushes the fescue back on 1/4 practice swing and quickly blasts it out before grass can bounce back. pic.twitter.com/OvBlHuJssZ
— Jeff Smith (@JeffSmithGolf) July 18, 2026
Clark did not receive a two-stroke penalty. DeChambeau’s agent did not understand the difference.
To go even one step further, here is another example of Clark’s pre-shot shenanigans from the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2024:
Your pre-shot at the Arnold Palmer. Please clean this up. pic.twitter.com/kBDsV2wYQk
— Cill Chainnigh (@KilkennyTek) March 18, 2024
That was not penalized. DeChambeau’s foot stomp cost him two strokes. What gives? Is the R&A out to get him?
Regardless of what happened in the past, the decision at The Open is final. Play continues.