Bryson DeChambeau had everything going his way at the British Open until he was dinged with a stunning two-shot penalty after his second round.
That instantly became the biggest story of the championship as it dropped him from second place to fifth place heading into the third round. After a one-under 69 on Saturday, DeChambeau is at six-under, which has him four shots back of the leader, Sam Burns.
Winners and Losers From Third Round of British Open: Rory Says Quiet Part Out Loud About Bryson
While the penalty he received was a big topic of conversation during the third round, one comment about DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler by NBC analyst Brad Faxon had fans on social media wondering what in the world he was talking about. When you take a step back and look at the words he said, it’s really hard to make any sense of it.
Early in the third round while NBC was showing Scheffler play a hole, Faxon jumped in and said:
"Pairings make a big difference. So many things can influence how a player plays... [Scottie] had a tough pairing with Bryson DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton, two guys that are difficult to play with. It's almost like a two-stroke penalty."
Scheffler did in fact play with DeChambeau and Hatton in the first two rounds but in no way was that a difficult thing for the No. 1 player in the world to deal with. He also played pretty well, shooting back-to-back 68s to get in contention entering the weekend.
Fans all pretty much had the same reaction to that statement by Faxon:
This is a really dumb take. Scottie and Bryson are good friends and Tyrell is certainly a nice guy (despite what his antics may perceive).
— TrackingScheffler (@SchefflerLegion) July 18, 2026
They were chatting both days and they clearly all played pretty well together I’d say. https://t.co/Zic18xa0pV
This might be one of the most ridiculous golf hot takes I have ever heard. https://t.co/kl5x6auQB1
— J. Brandon Powell (@JBrandonPowell) July 18, 2026
The nbc sports crew is insufferable.. Scheffler was laughing and having a good time playing with DeChambeau and Hatton and dude said playing with them is like getting a 2 shot penalty.. they don't even try to hide their bias
— Dave (@sportsinfive) July 18, 2026
I don’t know if Faxon was trying to work a two-stroke penalty joke into the broadcast or if he really meant what he said. Neither way would work. If it was a joke, it bombed. If it was an actual thought that he believed in, he was wrong.
I spent a lot of time over the first two days of the British Open watching the Scheffler-Hatton-DeChambeau group. Often times I saw them having some light chats on tee boxes as they waited for the group in front of them to play the hole. Hatton was often seen smiling and laughing, which was interesting to see because he can be a really intense guy out there. At one point one of the announcers even said they noticed Scheffler was quite chatty during his round and they had never seen him so at ease as he was making his way around Royal Birkdale.
Hatton and DeChambeau aren’t the fastest players in the world but the pace of play in the first two rounds was slow for everyone with so many players in the field.
Scheffler doesn’t seem like he would be the type of player who would be affected by the play or demeanor of the other guys in his group.
Maybe Scheffler should have played with DeChambeau and Hatton again on Saturday because he shot his worst score of the week—even par 70— in the third round.
Scheffler has been the best player in the world since May of 2023. He’s won four majors so far in his career, played on Ryder Cup, President Cup teams and has won an Olympic gold medal. Nothing seems to faze him, especially on the biggest stages of the sport.
The NBC broadcast had its struggles on Saturday, and Faxon’s viral, nonsensical comment was a big part of that.
Hopefully they bring their A game for Sunday’s final round. The viewers watching deserve it.
