Scottie Scheffler has defended his fellow American Bryson DeChambeau against accusations of cheating that arose from a rules infraction during the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. DeChambeau received a two-shot penalty after officials determined he had illegally flattened the grass around his ball on the fifth hole during the second round, an incident that reportedly led to some spectators taunting him with cries of 'cheat' during the third round.
Scheffler, the current world No. 1, stated that questioning DeChambeau's character or integrity is unwarranted. "All I can really say is I think maybe we need to be a little bit more strict in the way that we are policing guys," Scheffler commented, acknowledging the difficulty in applying rules consistently, especially when televised camera angles can sometimes create a different perception than what is visible to the naked eye.
"When you have camera angles that are far away, things can look different than they do when you're right there," Scheffler explained. "But it's a little bit of a balance because you've got certain guys like a Bryson who every shot he hits is going to be shown on TV."
DeChambeau was taunted by spectators during a controversial week at Royal Birkdale.
Scheffler emphasized his long-standing knowledge of DeChambeau, stating, "Bryson is a lot of things, but he's definitely not a cheater." He recalled their time playing amateur golf and various contests, asserting he has never witnessed anything suspicious from DeChambeau. "I've never seen him cheat once, whether we were having a putting contest on the putting green or chipping contest, or anytime we played amateur golf, I never saw anything suspicious," Scheffler said.
DeChambeau was given a two-stroke penalty by officials after his second round at The Open.
While acknowledging DeChambeau might have been "a touch careless around his ball," Scheffler does not believe his actions were intentional. He drew a parallel to past incidents, referencing Jon Rahm's penalty at the Memorial tournament a few years prior when his ball moved in the rough, suggesting that some situations are difficult to judge even with the naked eye.
Scottie Scheffler insists that his fellow American DeChambeau is 'definitely not a cheater'.
Scheffler also touched upon the broader aspect of players potentially exploiting rules, noting that in his experience, there's a line between understanding and pushing the boundaries of the rules. He expressed a sentiment that a return to the traditions of the game might necessitate stricter policing of certain actions. "I think sometimes it's just a difficult position in the game of golf," he continued. "When I was growing up, if this was the line, here are the rules and this was the right side of it. And this is when you're doing things against the rule, you always tried to stray really far that way. I feel like at times, sometimes you see players maybe push it a little bit further than they should."
Ultimately, Scheffler reiterated his stance, stating, "I think we need to kind of get back to the traditions of the game and maybe we do need to police things a little bit more stricter in the game. But like I said, it's a tough line to cross. That's why it's hard for me to say anything like this. Bryson is a guy that I've known for a really long time. He's not a cheater."