The Open 2026: How Fox Tramples Split DeChambeau to Win at Royal Birkdale

Players differed on whether he violated Rule 8.1 by being heavy-footed around his ball area in the long grass to the right of the fifth hole during Friday’s second round.

Several American golfers stood up for the LIV player, chief among them Scheffler, who insisted that DeChambeau was “not a fraud”.

But there was no issue as to whether he intentionally deceived. The issue was whether he broke a rule and officials deemed it a “clear-cut” violation.

DeChambeau’s angry reaction, delaying signing his card and therefore denying them the rest of the field knowledge at tee time on Saturday, was not a good look.

And there was a report that DeChambeau threatened to implicate US President Donald Trump in his 30-minute conversation with rules officials.

The friends played golf together and Trump was already embroiled in a high-profile sporting controversy in July, when he controversially asked soccer’s governing body FIFA To review United States striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match ban at the World Cup.

Balogun’s ban was suspended, allowing him to play in their last 16 tie against Belgium.

When I asked R&A chief executive Mark Durbon on Saturday if Trump had been in touch, he replied that he had not.

DeChambeau continues to divide opinion. His legions of supporters will feel he has done the hard work and the warm reception he received after docking those two shots on Saturday was fantastic to witness.

He does things his way and there are times, like last week, when it makes him self-absorbed — a trait that doesn’t usually play well in the golf locker room.

Rory McIlroy has made that abundantly clear, even if to say he “doesn’t like” the two-time US Open champion is probably a significant understatement.

Despite being in controversy and the spotlight, DeChambeau shunned the media all week.

Perhaps we’ll hear from him later this week at LIV’s event at the JCB Club in Staffordshire, when the reporting contingent will be significantly smaller. Or maybe his views will be kept for his self-curated YouTube channel.

He is as unique as his uniform length clubs and undoubtedly brings much needed character to the game.