Southport, England. In what had been a glorious day for golf with two players matching the lowest 18-hole score in major championship history and a record number of players (51 total) achieving under-par totals after two rounds of the 154th Open Championship, a late day controversy only served to shift the spotlight to what likely will remain the focal point for the balance of the championship.

At the center of the storyline is Bryson DeChambeau. After disappearing from major championship play with three consecutive missed cuts in 2026, DeChambeau re-emerged front and center this week at Royal Birkdale.

Paired with world number one Scottie Scheffler and England’s Tyrell Hatton, DeChambeau played both aggressively and smartly and ended his day with two consecutive birdies at the par-5 17th and the demanding par-4 18th. His effort produced a Friday score of 66 and two-round total of 133.

The two-time US Open champion appeared to be set for a final group pairing with Australian Lucas Herbert who soared to the top of the leaderboard with an eight-under-par 62 which nearly was a 61 save for a missed short par putt at the final hole. Herbert stands at 132 after two rounds and marks the first time he has led a major in solo fashion after 36 holes.

The controversy with DeChambeau ensued after he concluded play. He was met by R&A officials who had questions concerning Bryson’s play at the 5th. DeChambeau hit his tee shot on the short par-4 attempting to drive the green. His tee shot sailed wide right of the penalty area on that side and was found in deep grass.

DeChambeau walked to the area where his ball was located and the central issue from the vantage point of the R&A was whether his actions caused his intended area of swing to be improved. Bryson’s golf ball was within matted down grass and he was able to extricate it by muscling the ball out of its location and eventually completing the hole with a bogey five.

*** Grant Moir, R&A Executive Director, Governance “Bryson has been penalized two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, so intended backswing on the 5th hole when he was playing his second shot. “Basically, I’m going to explain the technicalities of the rule here for you. Ruling 1 restricts what a player may do to improve any of the protected conditions affecting the stroke, and this includes the area of the player’s intended swing. So, an improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke. “Now, I’ll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson’s case. “The area of intended swing includes the entire area that might reasonably affect any part of the backswing, the downswing or the completion of the swing for the intended stroke, and importantly, what the prohibited action here is that the player mustn’t move, bend or break any growing or attached natural object. A player is allowed to fairly take their stance by taking reasonable actions to get to the ball and take a stance, if in some situations that improves the condition affecting the stroke, but when doing so, the player must take the least intrusive course of action to deal with the particular situation and is not entitled to a normal stance or swing. “I would reiterate this rule applies even when there’s no intention to improve the area, as was the case with Bryson. “That’s all I have to say.” Grant Moir, R&A referee, explains why Bryson DeChambeau was handed a two-shot penalty 💬 pic.twitter.com/yH78bo9x9B — Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) July 17, 2026 ***

DeChambeau was advised of the R&A concern when concluding his play and before signing his scorecard — thereby avoiding a likely disqualification penalty for signing a scorecard for a lower score than what was legitimately made.

The protest by Bryson went for naught even after all of the key parties went to the site in question. During that discussion, DeChambeau was animated and clearly upset with the finding.

Bryson’s agent Brent Falkoff, when interviewed by Golfweek, stated the issue of whether DeChambeau improved his position was left unsaid and not acted upon till after his round concluded.

Given the importance of the matter, that only begs the question why did the R&A wait to inform DeChambeau?

*** Rule 8.1 / USGA and R&A Prohibits players from improving the “conditions affecting the stroke.” This requires golfers to “play the course as you find it.” You cannot physically alter your ball’s lie, the area of your intended stance or swing, your line of play, or your drop/relief area to gain an advantage. Specifically, players are not permitted to: • Move, bend, or break any growing or attached natural object (e.g., snapping a branch for a backswing). • Alter the surface of the ground, including pressing down sand, loose soil, or removing dew and frost. • Build or reposition loose impediments to gain an advantage. ***

Adding to the confusion was the lack of certainty that DeChambeau will play the third round Saturday.

Falkoff contended that DeChambeau was “wrongfully penalized,” and said that he felt the R&A had already made its decision. When Falkoff was asked if DeChambeau will play Saturday or withdraw in protest, Falkoff said, “your guess is as good as mine.”

Stay tuned.

Thisa & Thata

• Australia’s Lucas Herbert leads at the halfway stage of The 154th Open. Herbert set a new record of 132 for the first 36-holes at Royal Birkdale in The Open beating the mark of 134 set in 1983 by Craig Stadler and 2017 by Jordan Spieth. Herbert’s second round of 62 equaled the lowest round ever in The Open and men’s majors and set a new course record for the revised lay-out of Royal Birkdale. Herbert’s best finish in The Open is tied-15th at St Andrews in 2022. Herbert is the first player to shoot a score of 62 in The Open with a bogey on his card.

• Following up his opening 65 with a second round of 69, Jackson Suber sits in joint-second place after 36 holes at 134. Suber is playing for the first time in The Open. After dropping three shots in-a-row from the 6th, and falling to three-under-par, Suber recovered with four birdies and one more bogey on the back nine to finish at six-under at halfway.

• Cameron Young 67, 67 – 134 (-6): Runner-up in 2022, Young enters the weekend of The 154th Open in joint-second place after back-to-back rounds of 67. This is Young’s fifth appearance in The Open.

• Sam Burns 73, 62 – 135 (-5): Sam Burns equaled Herbert’s course record of 62 approximately fifteen minutes after it had been set, holing a bunker shot for a birdie on the 18th and concluding his play with three consecutive birdies. Burns is making his sixth appearance in The Open and a previous best finish of tied-31st at Royal Troon in 2024.

• Stroke average for the second round was 70.348, over a stroke lower than the average for the first round (71.436). This represents a new record low for the stroke average in the second round of The Open (previous record was 70.387 at Royal St George’s in 2021). The cumulative stroke average for the first and second rounds sits at 70.894. For the second round, the field was cumulatively 54-over-par, and they are 278-over-par for the two rounds.

• With a second consecutive score of 68 Scottie Scheffler now has six consecutive rounds under 70 in The Open (first round 2025 to second round 2026). Scheffler is now tied-second on the list of the most consecutive rounds under 70 with Nick Price, Henrik Stenson and Brian Harman. Ernie Els holds the record with seven consecutive rounds under 70 (first round 1993 to third round 1994).

• Other current streaks carried forward from The 153rd Open are held by Bryson DeChambeau (five rounds), Tommy Fleetwood (five rounds), Shane Lowry (three rounds) and Robert MacIntyre (three rounds).

• The hardest hole of the second round was the 18th with a stroke average of 4.361. There were twelve birdies, 79 pars, 61 bogeys, two double-bogeys and one other, a 7 for Darren Clarke.

• The easiest hole of the day was the par-5 17th for the second round running with a stroke average of 4.561, one of six holes that played under-par (the 2nd, 5th, 9th, 10th, 14th and 17th)). There were nine eagles, 63 birdies, 74 pars, seven bogeys, one double-bogey and one other at the 17th. The other was a nine scored by Jordan Spieth involving two penalty strokes.

• Three players completed bogey-free rounds in the second round of The 154th Open; Sam Burns, JJ Spaun and Scottie Scheffler.

• Nicolai Højgaard averaged the longest drive in the second round with 376.7 yards. Drives are measured on the 14th and the 17th. Nicolai Højgaard also hit the longest drive of the day with a drive of 395.5 yards on the 17th.

• Two players were tied at the top for driving accuracy in the second round with 13 of 14 fairways hit — John Parry and Andy Sullivan.

• Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Reed, Rickie Fowler and Alex Noren were tied at the top of the greens in regulation statistic with 16 out of 18 greens hit. The downside for Scheffler was a woeful putter – his longest made was just over eight feet for par at the final hole.

• Sam Burns was the best putter in the field, taking 21 putts over the 18 holes, an average of 1.17 putts per green.

• The cut was made at 141 (+1), equaling the lowest figure ever at The Open (141 set at Royal St George’s in 2021). 78 players have made the cut from 20 different countries.

• Out of the ten amateurs in the field, none have made the cut meaning that there will be no Silver Medal awarded this year. This is the first time since 2002 and 2003 that there has been no Silver Medal awarded for two consecutive years.

• Jon Rahm was given a code-of-conduct warning Friday for throwing his club after a poor tee shot on the par-3 15th hole, the third conduct ruling in the majors this year. Rahm, who shot 3-under 67 and was four shots out of the lead, hit his tee shot left of the green on the 15th hole and flung his iron forward and it bounced a few times.

• The R&A said Rahm was issued the official warning “under The Open serious misconduct policy.” The policy typically is in play for the entire tournament, meaning if there is another incident, it would be a two-shot penalty. The third violation is disqualification.

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