Bryson DeChambeau threatens to quit the tournament over two-shot penalty, Lucas Herbert shoots 62 to take the lead, second round talking points, latest news

Lucas Herbert shot the lights out on a stunning Friday at The Open Championship and will take a two-shot lead into the weekend, but Bryson DeChambeau’s blow-up over his two-shot penalty stole the spotlight.

The American has threatened to quit the tournament midway through after rules officials handed him the penalty for deeming he had improved his lie in the rough on the fifth hole by stamping down behind his ball.

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Herbert is aware that the job is only half done with several big names lurking, headed up by Cam Young, while DeChambeau will have a bee in his bonnet if he decides to keep trying to clinch his first British Open success. Also lurking is Scottie Scheffler.

But there is disappointment for Aussies Cam Smith, whose recent record at major level is concerning. Here are the Talking Points after a mega day at Royal Birkdale.

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WILL BRYSON PLAY?

The debate around Bryson DeChambeau’s two-shot penalty quickly pivoted from was it the right to decision? To will he comeback tomorrow after spitting the dummy?

As for the call that DeChambeau had improved his lie, former Australian professional Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley said on Sky Sports that it was not clear cut: “We all looked at it and thought it could go one way or the other.”

“It’s been unfortunate, but it’s been very well explained by the R&A,” he added.

On Live from The Open, former professional turned commentator Brandel Chamblee disagreed with Riley, saying it obvious that the right decision had been made.

Even though US Open champion Wyndham Clark went unpunished for a similar incident at Shinnecock Hills last month.

“There were multiple infractions. He just danced all over the path behind the golf ball,” Chamblee said.

“And then after he walked behind, he came forward to get closer to the golf ball and begin to take his address. Just for good measure, he stamps down behind it aggressively for good measure.

“He did everything but lay down behind it and take a weed whacker to the tall grass behind his ball.

“Multiple infractions. Absolutely condemning. Absolutely clear. I don’t really know what he was arguing about.

“It’s not about whether he did this inadvertently, accidentally, or deliberately; it’s about whether or not his actions improved the conditions affecting the stroke.

“They quite clearly did. There’s no way he would have decided right when he walked up to that golf ball; there’s no way he would have known what his angle of attack would be.

“He would have been assessing it, looking at it, and of course you do that with due care.

“You walk around and after you’ve assessed it, you decide that you have got to look up, you say ‘I’ve got to set my wrists, I’ve got to come down steeper’. No, when he was still assessing it, he was trampling all over the back of his line.”

DeChambeau was animated in his protests to the rules officials when they returned to the scene of the crime in the rough to the right of the fifth fairway.

And there has been suggestions by DeChambeau’s supporters that this was the latest incident where golf’s powerbrokers have had it out for him.

The LIV star has been playing the victim at times during a down stretch where he missed the cut at The Masters, the PGA Championship and the US Open.

He once again continued his media ban which has carried forward from the previous two majors.

But former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley denied there was any conspiracy against the 32-year-old playing out.

“To think that this is a vendetta against him, I’m not buying that at all,” he said on Live from The Open.

McGinley added: “I think it’s a breach. The first five seconds when he got to the ball, that’s when the breach happened.

“He walked up, saw his lie, and his first thing to do was to stand behind the ball, and in standing behind the ball, he bedded down the grass behind it, which in turn was going to improve his back swing.

“For me, it’s a clear breach. It looks like the referees are holding their position; both are in agreement that it was a breach.

“Bryson is obviously not agreeing with it, in a very stubborn way.

“That’s stamping down grass behind the ball. Your line of play is not just towards your target. It’s also your backswing. He’s standing right there where his club should be going back.”

McGinley and Chamblee were then baffled when reports emerged that DeChambeau is considering quitting the tournament at the halfway mark despite being in contention.

The American was bashing balls on the range until darkness descended on Birkdale, but his manager told reporters “we’ll see if Bryson turns up” when asked if his client will play the third round.

Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard and Todd Lewis reported that DeChambeau will make his decision on Saturday morning local time.

Chamblee was scathing in his assessment of the two-time US Open champion’s response to his punishment.

“I think it’s childish, it’s immature. It’s a ridiculous reaction,” Chamblee said.

“The rules officials did exactly what they were meant to do. The evidence is very clear and that’s why the rules officials stood their ground. They did the right thing and what Bryson needs to do is except the consequences of his action, even if it was accidental.

“It doesn’t matter, carry on. He’s three back on the weekend of a major championship. Carry on being a great player.”

Golf writer Eamon Lynch joined Live from The Open to add to the pile on.

“We saw all the reasons why Bryson is so compelling,” he said.

“We saw all the reason why the PGA Tour should want him back and we saw all the reasons why there’s a huge contingency on the PGA Tour, among the fan base and in the locker room, who think he’s not worth the hassle.

“What you saw was all the personality traits that, I guess, have defined Bryson over the years: the inability to control his emotions, the refusal to take any responsibility, a victim mentality. You see this unerring ability to turn what should be a great day into something that feels more like a stumble.

“And this instance that he can curate his own reality, live in safe space free from the media, free from being contradicted in anyway, which is not realistic for any elite athlete these days.

“A rules breach doesn’t stain a reputation. It happens every week. What stains a reputation is acting in an infantile, unprofessional manner after it.

“This is all on him. This is a guy who just raises self sabotage into an art form.”

McGinley, meanwhile, is confident that DeChambeau will play on Saturday:

“I can’t see that happening,” he said of DeChambeau pulling the pin.

“That might have just been said in a fit. There’s no way, being so close to (the top of) the leaderboard now at five-under par still, he is one shot out of second place, that he is going to walk away from an Open Championship.

“I just cannot see that happening.

“The problem Bryson has got whether he likes it or not, and every play is the same here, I’m not just picking on Bryson, is when you invite conjecture around the rules, you know, sometimes you’re going to get burnt.

“And he invited conjecture by the haphazard way he treated the grass around the world.”

McGinley was then proved right when DeChambeau took to social media, posting: “Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fire me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.”

CAN HERBERT GET THE JOB DONE?

Lucas Herbert went through a rollercoaster of emotions as he fell narrowly short of creating history at Royal Birkdale on Friday and now has to rally himself to have a crack at what matters even more this weekend – a shot at major glory.

For a man as talented as the Victorian, his record in the biggest events has been below par to date, a fact he acknowledged during a chat with Aussie reporters at Royal Birkdale last Monday. But he was confident his time would come.

That confidence will have only risen after his remarkable round on Friday and Herbert said he was daring to dream.

“I think so. It’s two worlds apart, though, to have dreams and then to have even a glimpse of it sort of come to reality,” he said. “(I had) dreams of winning The Open Championship for sure, and I’m in a great position to do that through two rounds. (But) there’s still a lot of golf to go and a lot of work to do.

“I think that’s probably the thing that — that would be the dream I would love to tick off more than shooting 62. I’ve got a great opportunity. I’m looking forward to getting after it on the weekend.”

The 30-year-old said the benefit of playing early in the day, combined with sitting atop the leaderboard, is that it gave him almost a full 24 hours to recover from the adrenaline surge and emotional experience he went through on Friday.

But Herbert, whose best finish in a major is a tie for 13th in the US PGA Championship in 2022, said he needed to maintain perspective as to what he should be aiming for over the next two days.

“I shot 64 to kick off the LIV Virginia event about two months ago and then backed it up with 63. So … I’ve got that to draw off, but in the same breath, you’re absolutely right, it’s very hard,” he said.

“I think everyone’s expectations goes through the roof as soon as you shoot a round like that. (I have) just got to try and keep it real tomorrow. A great score out there is 2- or 3-under.

“There’s five people that have shot 62 in the history of major championships. I’m probably a little optimistic if I think I’m going to keep adding my name to that list every day.”

THE CHASING PACK

Stars young and old, from debutants to major winners and world No.1s remain are among the pack ready to pounce if the Ripper GC star suffers a let-down this weekend. And they will be doing all they can to maintain the pressure on him.

When players the calibre of Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler are in the chasing pack, the nerves Herbert felt as he stood over the golf ball on the 18th on Friday may be topped if he is still in the lead on Sunday.

DeChambeau showed last year that he is capable in links golf when finishing in the Top 10 at Royal Portrush and while he endured some wild moments on Friday, including a tee shot that almost ended in Wales on the 5th and led to his controversial two-shot penalty, he is playing well.

At the very least, the dual-US Open champion has ended what had been an atrocious season in the majors by competing on the weekend at Royal Birkdale and if he can keep the ball straight off the tee, he could take some beating.

The roar that went up around the course north of Liverpool after he birdied the 18th to move to outright second – before the penalty was handed down – was deafening and with rounds of 67 and 68, the powerful American heads into the weekend fired up.

The penalty came after some pundits raised queries with the R&A about a situation on the 5th hole which raised eyebrows as the LIV Golf superstar tramped around the rough trying to figure out how to get himself out of trouble.

Scheffler, too, is well within range in eighth position and if he can get on a tear and as the defending champion and world’s top-ranked golfer, it seems improbable he will not feature higher on the leaderboard at some stage this weekend.

Even Rory McIlroy, who trails Herbert by seven shots, harbours hopes of adding to his 2014 British Open crown after shooting a 3-under 67 to reach the weekend at 1-under.

The dual-Masters champion noted the relative inexperience when it comes to closing out majors of players including Herbert and Jackson Suber, the first round leader who sits at 6-under in what his first trip to Europe, let alone first British Open.

“Look, I think the main objective today was to be here for the weekend, which I am. I felt like I left a couple out there. Then you look at the board and you see a couple of 62s, and you feel like you could have done a bit better,” he said.

“(I need to) get off to a decent start tomorrow. There’s a couple of guys up there, this will be sort of their first experience of playing in the lead at a major championship on the weekend, so there’s obviously some that are very experienced at it like Cam (Young) and Sam (Burns) as well. (But) I think if I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, be 4- or 5-under for the tournament, I’ll be right in it.”

A BIG MOMENT FOR MIN WOO

Min Woo Lee needed to make a monster putt on 18 to make the cut and his celebrations afterwards were worthy of a champion as he whooped and fist pumped to the crowd, who gave him an ovation.

While Lee would have hoped for better than to be at 1-over, his excitement is understandable given the Western Australian’s recent record in majors belies the talent that has made him one of the world’s most exciting golfers.

After finishing runner-up in the Scottish Open last week, Lee arrived in the north-west of England in good form and with a point to prove given he had missed five cuts in the previous six majors he has played.

Now 27 and entering what should be the prime of his career, the West Aussie wants to contend for the big titles. But as the 24th ranked Perth resident said, showing fight and learning how to grit your way through difficulty is a stepping stone.

“Beforehand I would have just given up a little bit, but I had faith in myself. I’ve been hitting it good, and I’ve been putting it well. Just nothing really dropped today. So I didn’t give myself enough chances,” he said.

“I just felt like I’ve been playing really good over the past few weeks. Just making cuts is not the big picture, but

moments like that when you need to do, I think that will help in the long run.

“I’m excited. It would have been a bit of a bummer to pack my bags and go home. I felt like I deserved to make the cut, but yeah, I’m just happy with myself. I’ll do a bit of practice and debrief a little bit, but yeah, I’m excited for tomorrow. Hopefully we get good conditions in the morning and can put a low one there.”

Smith has now missed eight of his past nine cuts and has just four majors left next year to retain an exemption before the benefits of his famous 2022 success at St Andrews expire.

The Queenslander had a resigned look as he walked off the 18th on Friday, suspecting he had finished one shot shy of what was required after shooting a 1-under 69 to finish at 2-over. A double-bogey on the 15th, or one bad shot, proved costly.

“(It was) just one bad swing,” he said.

“That’s the golf course in major championships. They just constantly ask questions. If you hit a poor one, you’ve got to back it up with a good one. I wish I could take that back.”

It is reaching desperation stakes but the Ripper GC captain is working hard and trying to change things up. He is confident in the partnership with new swing coach Claude Harmon III and he also changed his putter this week as well.

What is a concern is that there is a scarcity of golf for the former world No.2 to play in coming months.

Smith has a handful of LIV events to go, without any certainty as to what will happen with the breakaway tour in 2027, and then the Australian events at the end of the summer.

Beyond that? With the doubts about the LIV Tour, Smith may not tee it up in a meaningful event outside Australia until the Masters next April.

The biggest battle facing Day, meanwhile, is trying to maintain his fitness after a season where back troubles have severely hindered him.

The former world No.1 arrived at Royal Birkdale short of tournament toughness after withdrawing from the US Open last month and it showed, with Day unable to capitalise on scoring opportunities on Thursday before struggling on Friday.

THE ONE THING EVERYONE AGREES ON…

The sizzling temperatures are gone but the sun will keep shining over the weekend and while Herbert and Sam Burns, who also shot a 62, revelled in the morning conditions, the leaders will not have that luxury this weekend.

There have been exceptions but for the most part it is clear the best conditions to play in and score so far have been in the morning but with half the field heading home, the comfort of playing with some dew early on will disappear.

And the sun-baked course is certain to get even more difficult according to McIlroy, who said the pin positions will be vital in terms of determining exactly how hard life becomes.

“If they keep putting the pin positions where they’re putting them, they’ll be very difficult. There was a couple out there today that were very tricky,” he said.

“It really depends. They found sort of good little hiding spots for them, like over the back little slopes and just sort of

tucking them away a bit. If they continue to do that, then you’re playing not conservatively, but you’re not taking too much risk because they’re close to the edges of the greens.

“Once you start getting into the runoffs they’ve sort of created for this tournament over the last few years, it can be pretty you

tricky.”