Kisner Critiques DeChambeau’s Two-Stroke Penalty

Kevin Kisner is not pleased.

After Bryson DeChambeau faced a two-stroke penalty for “improving the range of his intended swing” during the British Open, Kisner voiced his frustrations. He expressed discontent with DeChambeau’s punishment on Tuesday’s “Fore Play Podcast.”

Kisner pointed out that officials weren’t around at the time of the incident, suggesting it seemed unjust for someone to be penalized solely based on camera footage. “It’s really tough to go back after a round and penalize players just because they’re caught on camera,” he mentioned in the podcast. “If someone else, like Jose Ballester, did something similar and wasn’t on camera, we’re likely not going to penalize him, right?”

He continued, “We have the ability to review all the shots with cameras. Even though there are officials with each group, we shouldn’t treat them like police. I’d prefer not to revisit penalties.”

Kisner also commented on the awkward angle of the footage, saying, “He claims it helped him make the intended swing. It certainly didn’t look great, but I don’t think he should be penalized for it.”

The penalty was applied after R&A officials determined DeChambeau had illegally improved his lie in the thick grass on the fifth hole. This dropped him from 7 under par, just one stroke behind the leader, to 5 under, placing him tied for fifth.

Despite bogeying the fifth hole initially, this ruling turned it into a triple bogey. Opinions among golfers were mixed; some backed DeChambeau, while others, including Rory McIlroy, faced criticism for allegedly putting the tournament in a difficult position.

Ultimately, DeChambeau finished the tournament in a tie for 14th place.

Grant Moir, the R&A’s executive director of governance, stated, “Improvement means altering one or more conditions that affect a stroke to gain a potential advantage.” He also emphasized that this rule applies even when actions are unintentional, like in DeChambeau’s case.