The Open star handed warning over conduct following Bryson DeChambeau controversy

A second star has been reprimanded after Bryson DeChambeau received a two-shot penalty on day two of The Open.

Despite his protests, DeChambeau was handed a penalty for breaching Rule 8.1 relating to playing the course ‘as you find it’.

The rule restricts what players can do to improve conditions directly affecting their stroke.

After a heated discussion with officials, DeChambeau was handed a two-shot penalty for trampling on long grass near his ball on the fifth hole.

There were rumours he would pull out of the tournament altogether, but he appeared to confirm his participation with a social media post on Friday (July 17), 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.”

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Explaining the decision, Grant Moir, the R&A’s executive director of governance, 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."

Jon Rahm receives warning for conduct

Meanwhile, Jon Rahm was involved in a heated moment during the second round at Royal Birkdale.

After missing the green while three under for the tournament on the par-3 15th hole, Rahm tomahawked his iron into the tee box in frustration before it bounced off the turf. The Spaniard then made bogey.

“It was just a bad shot,” Rahm said. “Actually on the tee, it was beautiful, left-to-right wind, perfect distance for a 6-iron for me, aim at the left bunker and just make a driving range swing that I’ve made hundreds of thousands of times, and it was just such a bad miss.”

Rahm was later approached by officials on the 17th tee box before receiving a warning for his conduct on the 15th.

However, he avoided a penalty despite previous instances of players receiving two-shot penalties for similar behaviour.

“I wasn’t thinking about [a potential warning],” Rahm said. “If I try to alter who I am too much, it might cost me a little bit on the course. But certainly shouldn’t have moments like the one on 15; I get it.”

Ahead of The Open, the R&A confirmed their policy around “serious misconduct” in a statement to Golfweek, which read: “If a player’s (or their caddie’s) behaviour is so far removed from what is expected in the spirit of the game of golf, in accordance with Rule 1.2b, the Chief Referee, in consultation with the Chief Championships Officer, may issue an official warning or apply a penalty of two strokes or disqualification, taking account of the frequency, impact or potential impact, intent and severity of the misconduct. An official warning does not need to be given prior to applying a penalty of two strokes or disqualification.”