Bryson DeChambeau has been criticised after being involved in a curt exchange with a ball spotter as he played his way back into contention at The Open Championship
Footage of Bryson DeChambeau having a brisk exchange with a spotter at The Open has emerged(Image: Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
Bryson DeChambeau has been slammed for the way he spoke to a volunteer at The Open Championship. The two-time major winner tore up Royal Portrush with a final-round birdie blitz to seal a top-10 finish on Sunday.
An opening-day 78 left the LIV Golf star in danger of missing the cut but he responded with a 65 to make the weekend, where he shot 68 and 64, the latter with seven birdies, to end on nine under, eight shots behind champion Scottie Scheffler.
However, DeChambeau has since come under fire for the way he spoke to a ball spotter after missing the fairway off a tee and finding thick rough.
Camera phone footage of the exchange, shared Golf on CBS, shows DeChambeau eventually finding his ball and then abruptly telling the spotter: “You can move out of the way, thank you.” As the spotter walks away, a smiling DeChambeau then appears to say: “Stood right in front of me.”
The exchange did not sit well with some golf followers, with some accusing the 31-year-old of “pathetic behaviour”. One said: “If you were the spotter and he said that to you, you’d be a Bryson hater for life.”
Another added: “The volunteer was standing there because from that vantage point he could see the ball, and he was waiting for Bryson to acknowledge seeing it.
“In fact, Bryson’s first words were, ‘Where is it?’ So clearly he needed the spotter to show him. Once that was done, Bryson gave the spotter ZERO time to move out of the way before he copped an attitude.”
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A third said: “Come on Bryson, this is pathetic behaviour, no matter how rich and good at golf you are.” A fourth argued: “Bryson literally was there for a second. The spotter was probably just making sure he’d definitely seen his ball.”
However, other fans defended DeChambeau, insisting he wasn’t rude to the spotter. One said: “I’m not Bryson’s biggest fan, but he said thank you and ok. Maybe could have waited a moment more before asking the spotter to move, but I don’t think it’s a big deal at all. Move on.”
A second agreed, saying: “Nothing wrong with this. Bryson got to his ball and there’s a spotter who’s just standing 5ft away. He did his job, move on.” Another fan saw a lighter side to the exchange, joking: “Bryson treating that spotter like a traffic cone is the real highlight of The Open.”
The spotter walks away after being asked to move by DeChambeau(Image: CBS)
Meanwhile, despite his strong finish at The Open, DeChambeau admitted he is yet to crack Links courses, an issue he admitted he needed to address before the tournament. He said after his final round: “Look, it was fair conditions the past few days. I always told you guys I like it when it’s fair conditions. I can play well.
“I still have to crack the code when it’s raining and windy but I feel like we’re getting close to some opportunities and solutions for that.
“It just takes a long time to develop stuff. I’m starting to learn. It was a fun three days. I was really proud of the way I turned it around.”
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