Bryson DeChambeau Reportedly Threatened to Call Trump After He Was Penalized at Open Championship

John Amis/AP

Professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau reportedly wanted to get President Donald Trump involved when he was recently penalized at the Open Championship.

In the second round of the Open this past weekend, DeChambeau was given a two-stroke penalty for “inadvertently improving his lie” on the fifth hole. DeChambeau was reportedly so upset that he threatened to not return to play the next day. He later took things a step further when he requested the President of the United States be involved in his efforts to protest the ruling.

A Monday report from The Telegraph read:

In his “Quadrilateral” Substack (a publishing platform), respected journalist and course architect Geoff Shackelford claims that in the 30-minute discussions with the R&A – including chief executive Mark Darbon – DeChambeau requested Trump’s involvement. It was ultimately denied, as were DeChambeau’s animated pleas to avoid the penalty.

On Saturday, Darbon was asked if he had received a call from Trump, who he has dealt with before because of Trump’s attempts to persuade the R&A to take the Open back to Turnberry, the links he owns in Ayrshire. “No,” Darbon said. “I have not received a call from president Trump, and we’ll see what happens from here.”

DeChambeu’s request came in the wake of Trump’s controversial involvement in the FIFA World Cup. U.S. star Folarin Balogun received a red card in the team’s match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering an automatic suspension for the next round. Days later, FIFA decided to suspend the red card to allow Balogun to play. Trump later confirmed he called FIFA President Gianni Infantino personally and asked for a review of the incident.

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