Golf

Bryson DeChambeau is not a cheater – Scottie Scheffler

By AAP Newswire

Jul 20, 2026

Bryson DeChambeau of the United States — Bryson DeChambeau has been backed by fellow American Scottie Scheffler after his Open controversy. -AP

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler has defended Bryson DeChambeau over the rules controversy that dominated the Open, insisting his fellow American is "not a cheater".

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DeChambeau was at the centre of attention at Royal Birkdale after being penalised two strokes following his second round for improving the line of his swing by trampling on long grass close to his ball.

The incident sparked a furore, with DeChambeau seen remonstrating with officials after being taken back to the scene of the incident on the fifth hole to review the matter.

Rumours circulated he had threatened to quit the tournament in protest and some of his fellow professionals were irritated that the affair delayed the publication of tee times for Saturday's play.

World No.2 Rory McIlroy criticised DeChambeau's "performative" behaviour, which included an after-dark session on the range in front of watching media.

However, tournament organisers the R&A accepted DeChambeau's actions had been unintentional and Scheffler felt that point should be stressed.

Scheffler said: "All I'll say is Bryson, I've known him for a long time and he's a lot of things, but he's definitely not a cheater.

"I've never seen him cheat once, whether we were having a putting contest on the putting green or chipping contest, or anytime we played amateur golf, I never saw anything suspicious.

"When you're watching him there from that camera angle, maybe he was a touch careless around his ball, but I don't think he did anything intentionally."

Scheffler believes DeChambeau's high profile means his every move comes under greater scrutiny, although he also feels the game needs to find a fairer balance when enforcing rules.

He said: "I think maybe we need to be a little bit more strict in the way that we are policing guys, but it's a little bit of a balance because you've got certain guys like Bryson who every shot he hits is going to be shown on TV.

"When you have camera angles that are far away, things can look different than they do when you're right there.

"I feel like at times, sometimes you see players maybe push it a little bit further than they should.

"I think we need to kind of get back to the traditions of the game and maybe we do need to police things a little bit more stricter in the game."

Scheffler's defence of the Claret Jug ended in a tie for fourth, three shots behind winner Ryan Fox, despite a closing 67.

He said: "Today was a great effort. I felt like I was doing the right things out there, I gave myself a lot of looks, but I guess it just wasn't my week."