Golfer Bryson DeChambeau reportedly threatened to leverage his relationship with former President Donald Trump to contest a penalty during the British Open over the weekend. DeChambeau, who is a supporter of Trump and chairs the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition, allegedly asked officials to involve the U.S. president in a discussion aimed at overturning a two-stroke penalty.
The penalty was assessed on the fifth hole for "inadvertently improving his lie," a ruling that at the time dropped DeChambeau from second place and put him three shots behind the tournament leader. He ultimately finished the tournament tied for 14th place with a score of -4 par.
Geoff Shackelford first reported the alleged threat on his Substack page, The Quadrilateral, with The Times of London and The Telegraph also confirming the golfer’s call for presidential intervention, according to HuffPost.
DeChambeau was granted an unusual opportunity to revisit the fifth hole to make his case before signing his scorecard, a process that caused delays for other competitors. However, his request for Trump's involvement was reportedly denied.
Mark Darbon, chief executive of the governing body of golf, the Royal and Ancient, stated to BBC Radio 5 that he had not received any calls from Trump concerning the penalty.
This incident follows a recent instance where Trump reportedly contacted FIFA President Gianni Infantino on behalf of U.S. men's soccer player Folarin Balogun. Balogun had received a one-game suspension after a controversial red card, a decision that was later reversed before the American team's match against Belgium.