DeChambeau moves the dial for golf but is his posturing and pantomime worth the hassle?

During the Open Championship golf tournament, a spectator shouted at golfer Bryson DeChambeau, calling him a cheat. This happened near the end of the second round. In golf, breaking the rules is considered very serious, even more so than personal dishonesty.

However, by the next day, the world number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, defended DeChambeau. Scheffler stated that he knows DeChambeau well and that while DeChambeau is a unique person, he is not a cheat. It's important to understand that no official body accused DeChambeau of cheating. The R&A, the governing body, explained that DeChambeau’s action, which resulted in a two-stroke penalty, was accidental.

The R&A's statement about the action being accidental seemed unusual. It might have been an attempt to calm down a frustrated DeChambeau or to protect the reputation of the tournament. Whether DeChambeau's action of stepping on long grass behind his ball was deliberate or not doesn't really matter. A rule was broken.

The intention behind the action is not important, just like in 2025 when Shane Lowry received a similar two-stroke penalty at the Open. In that case, a rule was also broken. The R&A’s mistake in this situation was minor. DeChambeau was in the wrong, mainly because of his angry reaction to the penalty, rather than the action that caused it.

Normally, this Open would be remembered for golfer Ryan Fox's impressive performance and win. The New Zealander secured his first major championship title in a strong way. Fox's calm and straightforward style of playing golf could teach us a lot.

Instead, the tournament was overshadowed by events involving DeChambeau. Reports emerged that DeChambeau had spoken aggressively about his penalty, even mentioning Donald Trump. While it was believable that DeChambeau might react this way, it wouldn't have made a difference. Trump's golf resort, Turnberry, has not been used for the Open for many years, so the US president would not influence a tournament decision. DeChambeau's strong protests suggest he is used to less criticism on the LIV tour. He did not seem willing to answer questions about the incident.

Golf has experienced a period of intense news coverage for some time now, which has been a significant change. Those who think golf is a dull sport are unaware that it is no more or less exciting than sports like cricket, Formula One, or cycling.

The arrival of the LIV tour and the resulting issues had mostly calmed down when the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund decided golf was not a necessary expense. Now, the focus is on the likely end of LIV and how the divided golf world will come back together. Exciting plays and impressive scores are still reported, but the drama happening away from the course has become more important than ever.

In this context, DeChambeau and the chaos surrounding him were a unexpected benefit for the Open. Rory McIlroy, who previously supported DeChambeau, voiced the thoughts of many players by criticising DeChambeau's dramatic behaviour during the incident. The R&A officials, who were angry with DeChambeau, likely appreciated McIlroy's comments. McIlroy's remarks generated more online attention than Sam Burns's performance to lead the tournament.

The question is whether golf truly needs this kind of disruption. We might soon find out. DeChambeau clearly prefers to stay with the LIV tour, even if it changes, especially if new funding is found for 2027. If that doesn't happen, or if DeChambeau feels that the lack of competition there is hurting his performance in major championships, he might have to rejoin the PGA Tour. The PGA Tour is unlikely to make things easy for him, but how much is the attention, the drama, and the noise that some people believe the sport needs, worth?

If DeChambeau gets his way, people might not look too closely at his major championship record for 2026, which includes three missed cuts and one tie for 14th place. His final round at the Open was disappointing, despite being in a promising position earlier. However, golf fans are eager to hear DeChambeau’s thoughts on his time at Birkdale, which will likely be shared soon through media outlets influenced by him. DeChambeau is an asset for LIV because he attracts attention.

DeChambeau is balancing being a positive influence with being a source of entertainment. The sport's connection with him is complicated. His experience at Birkdale did not help him.