Bryson DeChambeau’s Open Championship journey took a sharp turn on Saturday, just a day after his electric seven-birdie comeback in Round 2.
As Day 3 unfolded at Royal Portrush, the LIV Golf star found himself battling not just the brutal course but the clock as well.
His 3-under 68 kept him in the mix at 2-under-par for the tournament, but the round came with a dose of “frustration” and a slow-play warning that DeChambeau later described as “unfortunate.”
Bryson DeChambeau faces ‘unfortunate’ slow-play warning
On Saturday, DeChambeau teed off in the sixth group alongside England’s Nathan Kimsey. While he putt five birdies across the round, hole No. 17th drew unwanted limelight for the LIV golfer.
After his group fell behind pace, a rules official timed DeChambeau’s approach. When asked post-round if he was officially put on the clock, he confirmed, “Yeah, I was on 17.”
He elaborated on the situation to reporters, explaining: “Yeah, he timed me on 17 after I striped the drive down there. 16, difficult hole, got up-and-down in a difficult spot. Understand we were struggling with pace the whole day. I was moving my butt as fast as I could. Greens were really tricky. I was trying to read them right.”
He continued, “We just kept losing time. Unfortunately, on the 16-17 exchange, you’ve got a downhill drivable hole you can play pretty quick if you get in the right spot. They did that, and we just lost more time to the group in front of us, and they put us on the clock, which is unfortunate.”
Fortunately, no penalty was issued, and DeChambeau finished the hole with par.
But the warning reignited a broader conversation around pace of play, one that the LIV star didn’t shy away from.
Bryson DeChambeau wants slow players to get penalized
Known for his analytical approach and willingness to challenge norms, DeChambeau offered a bold solution for slow-play after being put on clock at The Open.
“You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. Very simple. Nobody wants to do it, because people are too scared to get exposed, which I am an advocate for. I’d love to be timed, and I have no problem with that,” he told reporters on Saturday.
“My putting, I’m more deliberate, take more time on that, but when it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I’m pretty fast. It’s like D.J., he’s really slow on the putting greens, and then he’s incredibly fast on his full swing shots, second shots into it. Everybody plays a different style of game, and that’s just the way it is. I wish it was just a new system.”
Pressed further, DeChambeau also suggested a shot-by-shot timing system, which may expose many slow players escaping from penalty.
“You time how long someone takes individually, and then you separate that from the other person playing,” he said, according to the transcript. “You start/stop on him the whole entire thing. It’s one way. I’m not saying it’s the answer. … If somebody has a different way of monitoring it, I hope — They make it? Yeah.”
He ended with the sentence, “I hope there’s a better system out there at some point in time,” per the transcripts.
As the two-time major winner continued, it clearly reflected his frustration over the long rounds on Day 1 and Day 2.
“I can tell you, first two rounds it was out of control what I saw,” he said, per the transcript. “That’s the way people play. Long story short, one day I hope we can have a better system.”
Round 1 at Portrush saw multiple groups take nearly six hours to complete their rounds, with Rory McIlroy’s trio taking more than five hours.
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