Bryson DeChambeaus peers react to shocking British Open penalty-stroke saga: Tough spot to be

SOUTHPORT, England — There was still a buzz around Royal Birkdale on Saturday about the Bryson DeChambeau saga that played out late into the night Friday.As tournament officials were sorting out the two-shot penalty assessed to DeChambeau for improving the lie of his ball, swing path and stance on the fifth hole of Friday’s second round, the release of Saturday’s tee times was delayed late into the evening, leaving players to wonder what was going on.“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,’’ Xander Schauffele said.“I’m assuming that (the DeChambeau kerfuffle) had something to do with it.’’It did.Schauffele and other players had mixed thoughts about whether DeChambeau should have been penalized the two shots.“It’s a tough one,’’ Schauffele said.

“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 (governing body) 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,’’ Schauffele went on.

“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.’’Russell Henley said he saw the video of DeChambeau appearing to stamp down the high grass.“Clearly [the R&A] are [saying] he improved [the path of] his backswing,’’ Henley said.“I don’t know what it looked like before he came back over there or if the bush came back up after he stepped on it.But yeah, that’s a tough one f...