SOUTHPORT, England — You might have been wondering: Would Bryson DeChambeau be to this 154th British Open what Wyndham Clark was to the 118th U.S. Open, last month at Shinnecock Hills? You know, the player fans love to abuse?
This boils it down to the bone and then some, but if you’re looking at their original sins, there are similarities. Clark’s original crime was to bash in a locker at Oakmont Country Club, site of the 2025 U.S. Open, the premier annual event of the USGA. DeChambeau’s was stomping all over the deep fescue rough, right behind his ball, on the right side of the fifth hole, here at Royal Birkdale, site of this year’s Open Championship, premier annual event of the R&A. These were not acts, and these were not actors, out of the Bobby Jones/Jack Nicklaus Establishment Golfer playbooks. Like, the total opposite.
We all know how Clark, in the last round of the U.S. Open this year, playing with Scottie Scheffler in the day’s final twosome, was subjected to heinous taunting from fans. In the history of the British Open, there is no moment of equivalent behavior, not even close.
British Open fans are often celebrated by players and broadcasters for being the most knowledgeable fans in the world, more so than even the spectators who gather at the Masters each year to sip sweet tea and make the scene at Amen Corner. And still, the leaders at the R&A felt compelled to issue an unprecedented pre-tournament behavior pep talk to fans this year. In a press release, they bullet-pointed it as this:
Respect the players;
Respect the links;
Respect each other;
Be aware;
Enjoy responsibly.
That’s about perfect.
And the timing was ideal, what with DeChambeau, on Friday night, saying he might withdraw from the tournament because of the two-shot penalty assigned to him by the R&A, proud and able presenters of this tournament. Rory McIlroy, the ultimate Establishment Golfer these days, accused DeChambeau of “looking for attention.” He called his actions “performative.” He said DeChambeau was holding “the tournament hostage” with his maybe-I’ll-play, maybe-I-won’t waffling Friday night.
In the end, of course, DeChambeau decided to show up for his appointed weekend rounds. Yep, he got to play one of the best courses in the world, in light winds and on two lovely summer afternoons, without even being charged a green fee. In fact, he stood to make a large sum of money, even after dissing the not-for-profit group, the R&A, that would be paying him. And it all made you wonder: Could these Open fans give Bryson DeChambeau the Wyndham Clark treatment?
No. Not even close. It’s not in them. Not based on crowd response to DeChambeau. (Polite, at the very least.) Not based on the commentary of two decidedly representative fans, two buddies who have been watching golf for 50 years, Nigel Chambers from England and John Rowles from Wales.
Michael Bamberger
“What they did at the U.S. Open with Clark, it was disgusting,” Nigel said. “OK, he smashed-up a locker that was 200 years old or something. But he has apologized. As for the Ryder Cup, I can’t even watch it anymore.
“So, yes, now the R&A have issued this Code of Conduct. You wouldn’t even think it is necessary, but maybe it is.”
“The people who need a Code of Conduct won’t read it,” John said. “What they should do is have yellow-card and red-card warnings for the fans: yellow for a first warning, red means you’re out. Give them to all the marshals to distribute.”
“As for DeChambeau, say what you will about him, nobody has questioned his integrity as a golfer, as far as I know,” Nigel said. “That would be the main reason why you would never hear any of that nonsense with Clark aimed at Bryson. I think he could have handled the whole matter with better grace, but it won’t affect how he is treated here. I think he is more popular with the fans than with some of his fellow pros.”
Nigel agreed. They brought up Seve Ballesteros, the beloved Spanish golfer who was often fussing with representatives of golf’s officialdom, “arguing that his ball was on a rabbit scrape or some such and that he deserved a drop.” Sometimes he got them, sometimes he didn’t. He remained beloved.
They returned to the subject at hand, Bryson DeChambeau.
“We do, we do tend to respect authority figures in this country,” Nigel said. “What DeChambeau did was inappropriate. But he’s not going to get vilified for it.”
And he didn’t.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.
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