Foreign News
Tommy Fleetwood and Bryson DeChambeau leave Royal Birkdale in vastly different directions
SOUTHPORT, England – A casual observer would have viewed Sunday’s snapshot from the 154th Open Championship with a curious glance.
As Tommy Fleetwood and Bryson DeChambeau brushed past each other in Royal Birkdale’s scoring area the destiny of their divergent week was etched across their sunburnt faces.
Fleetwood beamed, his broad smile was interrupted only by the occasional hug or high-five. If blissful contentment ever needed a meme, Tommy from Southport was the picture of peace.
DeChambeau scowled, his sneer was interrupted only by the occasional harrumph or huff. If self-absorbed discontent needed a meme, Bryson was your man.
To size up Tommy from Southport and Bryson it would have been an entirely forgivable mistake to assume one player won The Open, while the other lost in the most crushing manner imaginable.
Neither won the claret jug.
In fact, neither player had a realistic chance to claim the game’s oldest major title late Sunday at Royal Birkdale thanks to Ryan Fox’s gritty and gutsy performance. And yet a body language expert would reasonably deduce that the Royal Birkdale experience was vastly different for Fleetwood and DeChambeau.
Fleetwood finished his week with back-to-back birdies, the last sending the wildly partisan crowd packed in around the 18th green into a frenzy, for a closing 68 and a share of fourth place, three shots behind the New Zealand Champion Golfer of the Year.
DeChambeau made a triple bogey-7 at the 11th hole to post a 72 and a tie for 14th, his best showing at a Grand Slam event this season.
Fleetwood embraced his family following his emotional walk-off and happily made stops at the various media outlets.
“Walking down 18 and the atmosphere out there, that was beyond stuff that I’ve dreamt of. That was just stuff that I never imagined. The crowds were amazing, and they made it the most special week ever for me, and I can’t thank them enough,” Fleetwood smiled.
DeChambeau gave his caddie and team a fist bump and made his way to the locker room, declining any media requests for the fourth time in four days and leaving a wake of unanswered questions.
Fleetwood grew up about five minutes down the road from Royal Birkdale and would sneak onto the English gem as a child. Not winning The Open surely registered somewhere deep down in his competitive heart, but returning home to four days of unrestrained admiration hits so much deeper than a scorecard.
DeChambeau arrived at The Open to cap what had been a dismal major season, having missed the cut in his first three Grand Slam starts. But when he opened the week with a 67 there was an unmistakable optimism. Even his decision to decline media interviews on Day 1, which is his indisputable privilege, was lost in a sublime ball-striking display.
But that optimism and genuine appreciation was largely lost in the knee-high hay right of the fifth fairway during Friday’s second round, when DeChambeau kicked and stomped his way to a two-stroke penalty for improving the path of his intended swing. The surreal back-and-forth with the R&A only amplified the scene that was beyond surreal, even for Bryson.
DeChambeau is as talented and compelling as he is polarizing and petulant. There is no doubt that he believed the penalty wasn’t warranted but for the R&A it was a “clear-cut decision.” Making his plea so public only intensified the scrutiny.
The R&A was exceedingly clear that they didn’t believe that DeChambeau intended to improve his lie and violate the Rules of Golf, but action, not intent, is all that’s required for an infraction.
On this, DeChambeau had some high-profile allies.
“All I’ll say is Bryson, I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s a lot of things, but he’s definitely not a cheater,” world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler said. “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. When you’re watching him there from that camera angle, maybe he was a touch careless around his ball, but I don’t think he did anything intentionally.”
While Rory McIlroy was less an ally than he was curious observer: “Yeah, look, I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I’m not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it’s performative. I think a lot of it’s for attention. To hold the tournament hostage like that, and to have all of us, players, volunteers, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.”
DeChambeau’s 276 strokes were a step in the right direction competitively, but his choices felt like two steps back.
He could have spoken to the media following Thursday’s round and changed a narrative he doesn’t like. He could have quietly, at least publicly, accepted Friday’s penalty and used the slight, either real or perceived, to fuel his weekend charge.
Instead, he dug in against the media, against the R&A, against the notion he should fit in.
Instead, he finished the major championship season with three forgettable starts and one he’d probably rather forget – angry, frustrated and confused.
As he walked the same pathway to the locker room, Fleetwood left Southport with a full heart and a contentment rarely seen from someone who just tied for fourth place.
Two players heading in vastly different directions.
