Bryson DeChambeau handed bizarre two-shot penalty at The Open due to little-known rule

Bryson DeChambeau's surge up The Open leaderboard on day two came to an abrupt halt when he was awarded a two-stroke penalty.

On day two of the Open, Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns stole the headlines when they shot 62, equalling a record only achieved by four other players, including Brandon Grace, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry.

Herbert's incredible performance propelled him to the top of the leaderboard at the end of round two, with the 30-year-old currently two shots ahead of Cameron Young, Ryan Gerard and Jackson Suber.

DeChambeau was also hot on the heels of the Australian, moving to within one shot of the lead after shooting four under par.

That was until he received a two-stroke penalty on the fifth hole and was penalised under Rule 8.1 of golf for trampling on long grass close to his ball and inadvertently improving his lie, seeing his bogey on that hole become a triple-bogey seven.

Although the 32-year-old passionately pleaded his innocence, the R&A were having none of it, releasing a statement which read: "Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended back swing on the fifth hole, his second shot.”

He added that DeChambeau “gained an advantage” despite accepting the action appeared to be incidental. “The player must not move, bend or break any natural object,” he stated, quoting from the rule book. “This rule applies even when there is no intention,” he concluded.

Rule 8.1 states players cannot:

• Move/break objects
• Alter the ground
• Move obstructions

Heading into Saturday three strokes behind Herbert is a huge blow to DeChambeau as he bids to win his first Open, but the two-time major champion will be determined to put this minor mistake behind him and lay down a marker on day three.

In response to the incident, DeChambeau said sarcastically: "Are you guys having a great night? I'm having a great night."

He then added that he was off to "hit some balls" and headed off to the driving range, where he posed for a selfie with fans before talking to his team on the practice area.

What Nick Faldo said about Bryson DeChambeau

Ahead of the Open, three-time champion of the tournament Nick Faldo accused DeChambeau of having "zero strategy" when it comes to competing in links golf.

"He said it last year: 'I'm going to go out and attack the links'," Faldo said. "Well, I've never attacked a links.

"You thread it, don't you? You feed it down the fairway. You look at humps and bumps. If I send it over and feed it, it nudges back into play.

"You don't think: 'Oh, I'll just blast it down there. Can't see where I'm going'. The fairway is 20 yards wide. Good luck. Even if you hit it fantastic and it lands on the corner of a divot, you might still miss the fairway.

"So you've got to think, 'How do I get it on the short grass?' It's so important."

So, after receiving a two-stroke penalty and being effectively written off by Faldo, DeChambeau will be determined to prove the doubters wrong and recover from this setback.