As night fell on Friday, around the time that Bryson DeChambeau was locked in remonstrations against a two-stroke penalty, a few of us were not above making the same joke.
It went a little like this: ‘How long before Donald Trump gets it overturned?’
It says near enough everything about two divisive men that it wasn’t so far from the mark – late on Sunday, after Ryan Fox had won The Open, the respected American course architect and author Geoff Shackelford reported DeChambeau had indeed floated the possibility of involving the US president in his mess.
Based on phone calls I have had with informed sources, that information is correct. The threat was made and perhaps the only surprise is that Trump did not wade in – after all, the rules of golf have always been a mysterious concept to the lord of the White House and DeChambeau is his mate.
But there was no presidential intervention. No Folarin Balogun part two, just a two-shot penalty.
We can state at the outset that DeChambeau has not commented on this – he has been walking away from the media all week. Nor has his agent responded to a request for clarification from Daily Mail Sport. But playing the Trump card would be entirely in keeping with the ever-growing delusions of a sportsman whose credibility is now under the microscope.
Byrson DeChambeau is driven to the scene of his ‘crime’, the fifth hole where he flattened the grass and made his backswing easier. He was docked two shots by Grant Moir, executive director of governance at the R&A
DeChambeau was incensed by the decision and threatened to withdraw from the Open and also to call his friend Donald Trump to intervene
To rewatch the footage of that incident during the second round is to conclude, in my view, that DeChambeau was lucky in the extreme – the decision by Open officials to impose a two-stroke penalty but to declare his actions accidental felt remarkably generous based on the evidence we have all seen.
Rory McIlroy spoke for more than a few of the field when he lacerated DeChambeau for his ‘performative’ antics after being called out, which is to say the buggy ride, the arm waving, and the presentation of a grave injustice. But McIlroy was more subtly damning on the subject of intent and that is the area of greater importance.
Asked if he felt DeChambeau knew what he was doing when he ‘inadvertently’ improved his swing path, the world No 2 said: ‘I’m not in his mind, but it didn’t look good.’
Scottie Scheffler is among the cohort to state, unequivocally, that DeChambeau is not a cheat. And we know the stigma attached to cheating in golf – it is the immovable stain. As a label, it should not be applied lightly.
Of course, DeChambeau alone will know truth. But it is entirely plausible that in his ever-expanding role as an influencer, he might not mind the heat, wild as that sounds. Framed another way, the attention will be good for business, which is one of the points McIlroy was driving at in his comments about the histrionics.
If that is where DeChambeau currently resides with his thinking, then it is truly grim. Then again, he has always been a contradictory sort. An enigma.
He is the outsider who always had a knack for grating on his peers and, simultaneously, he is the box office star who brings eyeballs to his every step. Punters love him. Even in the wake of this incident, his support was overwhelming on the links of Royal Birkdale.
But, if we are to assume DeChambeau still has designs on being a serious athlete, on utilising his abundant talent, then he must know that he is approaching a cliff edge at speed.
His position in the game was shrouded in doubt long before he entered the rough on the fifth hole on Friday – his LIV contract expires at the end of this season and that tour might not even exist in 2027. But the PGA Tour has done nothing to indicate a desperation to have him back. Even before the C-word came into the conversation, they were unwilling to grant DeChambeau a smooth off-road and we know that has affronted his ego.
DeChembeau and his agent Brett Falkoff after the golfer is docked two shots. The American refused to speak to the media
Moir explains his decision over DeChambeau to the media on Friday night
Rory McIlroy spoke for more than a few of the field when he lacerated DeChambeau for his ‘performative’ antics
Naturally, DeChambeau is within his rights to know his value as a pied-piper figure – he is immensely popular, shown by his YouTube following of almost three million. And it is true that he thinks a better living could be made in that space full-time between majors if he finds himself without a tour in the near future.
But if he is playing brinksmanship, if he thinks the PGA Tour will cave in their desperation for a showman, he will likely be left disappointed.
Just look at Phil Mickelson – both his profile and achievements dwarf by a factor of thousands anything DeChambeau has brought to golf and he is persona non grata after various scandals and acts of sporting arson. Based on conversations I’ve had this week, hell will freeze over before the PGA Tour will reunite with Mickelson.
For DeChambeau, that ought to serve as a warning. Railing against the authorities and calling for presidential favours might be good for clicks, or ‘performative’ as McIlroy put it in such withering terms, but his old rival might be surprised by how quickly the world moves on without him.
