Xander Schauffele shares his opinion on Bryson DeChambeau being handed two-shot penalty at The Open
· Yahoo Sports
Bryson DeChambeau continues to be the major talking point at The Open Championship.
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The American was handed a two-shot penalty after his second round at Royal Birkdale, where he was adjudged to have improved the area of his intended backswing on the fifth hole.
Understandably, DeChambeau attested his innocence at the time, but his score of seven-under was later reduced to five-under.
DeChambeau remains in contention despite the penalty, which his compatriot Schauffele has now discussed after his third round of The Open Championship.
Xander Schauffele empathizes with ‘unfortunate’ Bryson DeChambeau at The Open
Speaking from Royal Birkdale on Saturday, Schauffele said: “You know, I don’t know the… I don’t have social media, so I was wondering why our tee times weren’t coming out at about 10:50 p.m. last night.
“I’m assuming that had something to do with it. It’s a tough one. Who knows. I have no idea, to be honest.
“I’m assuming you talk to Bryson… I haven’t spoken to him or heard what he said, but he’s just stepping in how you’d normally step in to hit a golf shot.
“I think the R&A said something along the lines of whether it’s intentional or not, it’s still a penalty.
“It’s a tough spot to be, obviously, when you’re in high brush, kind of having to dance around to get to your golf ball is a tricky thing. It’s not something we’re used to doing that often.
“You imagine you give him the benefit of the doubt; he said he didn’t do it intentionally, and it’s unfortunate that he got penalized because he was playing incredibly well and obviously he’s still playing incredibly well, so he’s obviously going to have something to prove these next two days.”
Threatening to not show up for round three, DeChambeau wasn’t happy with his penalty, which placed him three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert, rather than one.
Xander Schauffele praises Ryan Fox after record-equalling 62 at The Open
Two-time major champion and former Open winner Schauffele is also in contention for the title, sitting on four-under after his three rounds.
He has climbed the leaderboard following a four-under 66, although that does fall short of his best-ever major round.
The American has twice carded record-equalling 62s, with Herbert, Sam Burns and Ryan Fox having just done the same at Royal Birkdale.
Tasked with comparing Fox’s efforts to his at Los Angeles Country Club and Valhalla after playing with him on day three, Schauffele said: “I mean, you’d take a 62 anywhere.
“If it’s in a major it’s a cherry on top. But on a Saturday it’s even better. He came out hot. He was hitting it close, making the putts he should make.
“Hit an incredible shot there on 18 out of that bunker. Took on risk when he had to, tried to stay aggressive.
“The wind was down when we were playing and it was kind of overcast, so I thought it was a little bit softer than before, and he played amazing, and I was just trying to hop on whatever wave he was on to the best of my ability.”
Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP via Getty ImagesAnd Schauffele, who had a front-row seat for the eight-under 62, said of the good vibe in their group: “Foxy is a great guy. Deano (Dean Smith), his caddie, awesome guy, too.
“We were kind of having a chat, and he just moved to Florida, and he kind of splits time there, so we were just talking as we played golf.
“Obviously trying to play the best we can, but when you’re even par starting eight back, you’re just trying to go and shoot a good number, and he did just that. I played well, too.”
Sharing if he thought low scoring was possible at the start of the day given the hole locations, he commented: “I mean, the wind was down for us, like I said.
“You definitely saw that they did not want another 62, looking at the pin sheet. I don’t know where they’re going to put the pins tomorrow after Foxy’s 62, but they were on some slope for sure. His 62 is impressive for sure.”
New Zealander Fox stormed to joint-first with Australian Herbert after his superb round, although the top of the leaderboard is now very competitive.
Schauffele certainly isn’t out of the race at this stage, along with the likes of high-profile stars Scottie Scheffler, DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood.