Donald Trump has weighed in on Bryson DeChambeau’s heated rules dispute at The Open Championship, calling the penalty against the American star a ‘tough call.’
Speaking on Friday, Trump addressed the drama that unfolded at Royal Birkdale, where DeChambeau was docked two strokes during his second round for improving his lie in the deep rough on the fifth hole.
The penalty sparked a furious reaction from the LIV Golf star, who reportedly threatened to call Trump for assistance in having the ruling overturned.
When asked if there was a precedent for someone in his position acting as a ‘fixer’ for athletes facing sports disputes, Trump rejected the label and reframed his role.
‘Well, it’s not a fix. You mean being a judge?’ Trump replied when questioned about his involvement in high-profile sports controversies.
‘You know, I thought the Bryson call was a tough call,’ Trump added.
Donald Trump has weighed in on Bryson DeChambeau’s heated rules dispute at The Open
DeChambeau was hit with the penalty on the second day after ‘inadvertently improving his lie’
‘I saw him walking around. I see a lot of people there walking around looking for their ball in weeds. I’ve been watching that. So, I thought it was a tough call against him.’
Trump then drew a comparison to his recent intervention regarding a red card issued to U.S. Men’s National Team star Folarin Balogun during the World Cup, defending his decision to reach out to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
‘I thought the red card was a very tough call, and it worked out brilliantly,’ Trump said.
‘Look, supposing that they didn’t let him play and we lost, everyone would have been angry, right? The way it was that they lost with their best player, now everyone’s happy, including Belgium.’
‘Of course, they lost their next game, so they’re not that happy either, but it worked out great,’ he continued. ‘Gianni did a good job in making that call. All I did, I asked for a review. I thought that call was not a good call.’
Despite DeChambeau’s frustration on the course and his threats to get the president involved, R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon confirmed that Trump never reached out regarding the golf penalty.
Darbon maintained that the ruling against DeChambeau was ‘clear-cut’ from a rules perspective, emphasizing that the decision was made strictly to uphold the integrity of the championship regardless of the player involved.
DeChambeau reportedly tried to get Trump involved in the dispute at The Open
The American was subsequently embroiled in a dramatic argument with officials at The Open
In losing the argument, DeChambeau toppled from one shot off the 36-hole lead to three back, before sliding further down the leaderboard on Sunday.
While Scottie Scheffler insisted DeChambeau was not a ‘cheat’, Rory McIlroy was scathing of his rival’s antics.
Speaking on Saturday, the world No 2 said: ‘I was up in the players’ lounge watching it with a few other players and as soon as he made the step into the ball, we all sort of looked at each other and we were like, “That didn’t seem right”. Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, it was pretty obvious for why.’
McIlroy added: ‘I think a lot of it’s performative. I think a lot of it is for attention. To hold the tournament hostage like that and to have all of us, players, volunteers, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.’
