Bryson DeChambeau accused of 'losing the plot' by golf icon after Open penalty drama

Golf legend Sir Nick Faldo has torn into Bryson DeChambeau, claiming he “lost the plot” during The Open penalty row.

DeChambeau received a two-shot penalty on day 2 of the 154th edition of The Open, which is taking place at Royal Birkdale.

The R&A found the American guilty of ‘inadvertently improving his lie’ when he stood on long grass to get closer to his ball on the fifth hole.

He later threatened to quit after long and heated discussions with officials before he later released a statement on social media which read: “Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.”

Footage had earlier shown the American animatedly protesting the sanction, even returning to the spot where the offence had occurred.

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At one point he claimed: “I just won’t play tomorrow.”

Grant Moir, the R&A's executive director of governance, also released a statement breaking down Rule 8.1.

“Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of his intended backswing on the fifth hole when he was playing his second shot,” he said.

"Rule 8.1 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. I'll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson's case.”

Sir Nick Faldo slams Bryson DeChambeau

The penalty meant DeChambeau's bogey became a triple bogey seven and pushed him three places off the lead.

Three-time Open winner Faldo has since responded, and it’s fair to say he was not impressed by DeChambeau’s behaviour, accusing him of wanting to be “the centre of attention” in an interview with Sky Sports.

"I always thought you wanted to come into a major and keep your mind and body on a lovely, even kind of zen keel,” Faldo said.

"For him to be having to deal with all this emotion, whether it fires him up or not, we will see. I've got to believe it's another hurdle to climb."

Sky Sports’ Paul McGinley appeared to agree, adding: "He's made himself the story now. If he plays poorly, it will be 'because of what the horrible R&A did to me at the ruling' and, if he plays well, it's because he's fired up off what they did.

"We've seen a lot of these incidents over the years, but there was acceptance of it. A lot of the time, nobody makes a big fuss or drama the way that went on. That's where Bryson got it wrong - he didn't respect the referees in the game."