SOUTHPORT, England -- The R&A assessed Bryson DeChambeau a two-stroke penalty Friday following his second round in the 154th Open Championship for allegedly improving his lie in the tall grass before his second shot on the fifth hole.
DeChambeau had moved into solo second at 7 under, one shot behind leader Lucas Herbert, after carding a 4-under 66 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
The R&A's executive director of governance Grant Moir said in a statement that DeChambeau was penalized two strokes "for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing, so intended backswing on the 5th hole when he was playing his second shot."
The statement added: "An improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke. Now, I'll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson's case."
Moir said that at issue was DeChambeau's violation of Rule 8.1 of the Rules of Golf, which is designed "to support the principle of 'play the course as you find it.'"
The rule restricts what a player can do to improve protected "conditions affecting the stroke (anywhere on or off the course)," including the lie of the player's ball at rest, the area of the player's intended stance, the area of the player's intended swing, the player's line of play and the relief area where the player will drop or place a ball.
The two-stroke penalty changed DeChambeau's score to 68 and dropped him into a tie for fifth at 5 under after 36 holes.
His 257-yard tee shot on the fifth hole was so far right that he hit a second provisional drive in case he couldn't find his ball. When DeChambeau initially approached his first ball in the native area, he took several high steps, and it appeared the tall fescue grass behind his ball lay down as a result.
DeChambeau hacked his ball out of the tall fescue and eventually made a bogey on the par-4 hole. After the penalty, his score on No. 5 was changed to a triple-bogey 7.
DeChambeau didn't address the penalty when he was asked about the situation by a reporter after he signed his scorecard.
"Bryson, what happened out there?" a reporter asked him.
"I played great, actually," DeChambeau said. "Are you guys having a good night? I'm going to hit some golf balls."
DeChambeau went to the driving range and hit balls for about 45 minutes.
When his agent, Brett Falkoff, was asked by reporters if DeChambeau would play in the third round, Falkoff said, "We'll see."