Scottie Scheffler comments on Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot Open Championship penalty: ‘not a cheater’
As the best player in the world, Scottie Scheffler’s speech carries some weight. That’s why many golf fans wondered what he said about the controversial two-shot penalty awarded to Bryson DeChambeau after the second round of the Open Championship.
Scheffler, who played DeChambeau in that fateful second round, was asked about it the next day, but decided not to voice his opinion. “I don’t have much to say about it,” he told the media on Saturday before changing his words. “I actually have a ton of things to say. I haven’t decided what I want to say publicly yet.” He also added that he wanted to focus on the tournament at hand without worrying about making comments that could cost them their lives.
After a frustrating tournament filled with missed putts and missed opportunities in the first three rounds, Scheffler was back in contention on Sunday. That includes taking a controversial timeout with a very useful TIO relief after hitting his second shot from the par-5 left 17th into the stands. But he came up short on the disappointing 18th hole, making bogey and falling to seven under par.
Scottie Scheffler started fast in the first round of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale but fell behind in the final 12 holes. (Kate McShane/R&A)
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This set the stage for post-round media coverage, and naturally he was asked again about the DeChambeau decision. And after all that anticipation about which side Scheffler would take, he got a little bit of both.
“All I’ll say is Bryson; I’ve known him for a long time and he does a lot of things, but he’s definitely not a cheater,” Scheffler said. “I never once saw him cheat, whether it was on the green or in a chip-putting competition or when we played amateur golf, I never saw anything suspicious.”
This is a clear defense of DeChambeau’s integrity and commitment to following the rules. However, he immediately said that the rules should have been enforced more strictly and that he might have been “careless” in his steps.
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“When you watch him from this camera angle, you can see he’s being a little careless around his ball, but I don’t think he’s doing anything on purpose,” Scheffler explained.
“The only thing I can really say is I think we need to be a little tougher in our policing, but it’s kind of balanced because you’ve got guys like Bryson whose every shot he hits is going to be shown on television. When the camera angles are too far away, things can look different than if you were there.”
Bryson DeChambeau of the United States speaks with a rules official after the second day of the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 17, 2026 in Southport, England. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
This is another point raised by many other players, including Russell Henley. Every shot DeChambeau takes is captured by cameras, whereas actors who are not subject to that level of scrutiny can get away with a little adaptation to the circumstances around them.
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“We’ve seen penalties called — like you remember Jon Rahm a few years ago at the Memorial when he moved the ball hard and it was visible to the naked eye, can you really say that?” Scheffler added. “Sometimes I think it’s a difficult position in the game of golf.”
Still, after defending DeChambeau, the world number one said there needed to be greater enforcement of golf “traditions” and tougher policing going forward.
“When I was growing up, it was like if this is the line, this is the rules, and this is the right side of it, and this is when you do things against the rules,” Scheffler said. “You’ve always tried to go too far, and I feel that way at times. Sometimes you can see players push it a little further than they should.
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“I think we need to get back to the traditions of the game and maybe take a little tighter control of things in the game.”
Bryson DeChambeau shakes hands with Scottie Scheffler on the 18th hole during the second round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club on July 17, 2026 in Southport, England. (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)
So he defended DeChambeau and his character, saying he believed the rules were not intentionally broken. But he also seemed to say that the punishment was correct and should be applied more strictly in similar situations in the future.
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Many golf fans find themselves here after the tournament; He defends DeChambeau’s intentions, believes that enhanced lying often occurs with impunity, and also thinks the rules should be enforced more strictly. Although it is one thing to say this for foreigners, it is completely different to say it from the best in the world.
