Bryson DeChambeau could withdraw from The Open after 'unfair' two-shot penalty, says agent

Bryson DeChambeau could sensationally withdraw from the 154th Open Championship after his agent revealed the LIV Golf star feels he has been "unfairly penalized" following a controversial two-shot penalty at Royal Birkdale.

Speaking to Fried Egg Golf's Kevin Van Valkenburg after Friday's second round in Southport, DeChambeau's long-time agent Brett Falkoff said the two-time U.S. Open champion will likely wait until Saturday morning before deciding whether to continue in the championship.

"He's a big boy, he'll see how he feels," Falkoff told Van Valkenburg late Friday night. 

"He certainly feels he was unfairly penalized."

Falkoff also made clear how strongly DeChambeau's camp disagrees with the R&A's decision, adding: "He's a lot of things. He's not a cheater."

Despite apparent uncertainty from Team DeChambeau over his participation in Saturday's third round, fellow Tour pro Michael Kim, who missed the cut on 5-over par, believes there is no chance he will withdraw from The Open given his current position of tied fifth on the leaderboard. 

Falkoff's comments underline the anger within DeChambeau's team, who believe the Crushers GC captain neither intended to improve his lie nor sought to gain an unfair advantage from the deep rough.

DeChambeau thought he had fired a brilliant second-round 66 to move to 7-under-par, leaving him alone in second place and just one shot behind leader Lucas Herbert.

But after signing his scorecard, R&A officials informed him they wished to review an incident on the par-4 5th.

DeChambeau's tee shot had finished in thick rough to the right of the fairway. 

After reviewing footage for more than an hour, officials ruled that he had "inadvertently improved the area of his intended swing" by stepping down grass behind the ball before playing his second shot.

The R&A subsequently assessed DeChambeau a two-shot penalty.

His bogey five on the hole became a triple-bogey seven, changing his second-round score from 66 to 68 and dropping him from 7-under to 5-under par.

Instead of beginning the weekend one shot behind Herbert, DeChambeau slipped into a tie for fifth, three strokes off the lead.

Watch what happened here: 

Explaining the decision, R&A chief rules official Grant Moir said: "Bryson has been assessed a two-stroke penalty for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing and intended backswing while playing his second shot on the fifth hole."

Moir stressed that intent was not a factor under the Rules of Golf.

"I'd like to emphasise that this rule applies regardless of whether there was any intention to improve the area, which was the situation in Bryson's case," he added.

While the R&A maintains the decision was a straightforward application of the rules, DeChambeau and those closest to him believe the punishment was excessive given there was no deliberate attempt to improve his lie.

According to Falkoff, DeChambeau will sleep on the decision before determining whether to tee it up in Saturday's third round.

Should DeChambeau remain in the field, he will be set for a third-round pairing with Sam Burns at 3.30pm local time. 

GolfMagic's Ben Smith caught DeChambeau walking to the range immediately after being informed of his two-shot penalty. 

Once arriving on the range to hit balls, DeChambeau turned to us and other reporters to offer us some snacks. 

He also asked us what we thought of his swing, to which we all nodded approvingly whilst wishing we had a ball speed of 200mph. 

As Michael Kim suggests above, it would be a something of a shock if DeChambeau does WD from The Open over this ruling. 

But if we have learned anything from DeChambeau down the years, it's to very much expect the unexpected. 

The prospect of one of golf's biggest stars withdrawing from The Open over a disputed rules decision would be an extraordinary development, but Falkoff's comments leave little doubt about how strongly Team DeChambeau feels the ruling has unfairly altered his championship.