British Open 2025: Bryson DeChambeau sounds off about getting put on the clock

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Bryson DeChambeau was put on the clock Saturday at the British Open and afterwards shared his thoughts about how the professional game should combat its systemic pace-of-play issue.

DeChambeau, who has battled back after an opening 78 at Royal Portrush with rounds of 65 and 68, was approached by R&A officials late in this third round at the 17th hole about picking up his pace. According to the broadcast, DeChambeau expressed frustration with the decision.

Time is routinely an issue at Open Championship, as the wind and elements tend to wreak havoc on decision-making. Conversely, DeChambeau has battled complaints about his pace while playing on the PGA Tour before jumping to the LIV Golf League.

After his round, DeChambeau told the press he believes the current structure is not fair to the entire field and could be corrected if players were timed.

“It's very simple. It's not difficult at all,” DeChambeau said. “You eventually time everybody for their whole entire round. Very simple. Nobody wants to do it, because people are too scared to get exposed, which I am an advocate for. I'd love to be timed, and I have no problem with that.

“Everybody plays a different style of game,” DeChambeau continued, “and that's just the way it is. I wish it was just a new system."

DeChambeau asserted his group was struggling with pace throughout the round and said he was “moving my butt as fast as I could.” As for today’s problems, DeChambeau chalked it up to tricky greens.

“When it comes to iron shots, off the tee, I'm pretty fast,” DeChambeau said. “It's like [Dustin Johnson], he's really slow on the putting greens, and then he's incredibly fast on his full swing shots, second shots into it.”

DeChambeau felt that his proposal would be “more fair towards everybody.”

“If somebody is playing slower, the guy can go up to him and say, ‘Hey, man, you're over par with your time.’ All you do is you just time them for every single shot,” DeChambeau said. “He gets there and puts the bag down, and how long it takes him to hit that shot and how long it takes him to walk to the green. It's not rocket science.

“You time how long someone takes individually, and then you separate that from the other person playing. You start/stop on him the whole entire thing. It's one way. I'm not saying it's the answer. I'm definitely not somebody that has the most experience or knowledge on it. I hope there's a better system out there at some point in time.”

Marc Leishman and Matt Fitzpatrick have also sounded off about pace issues this week. “I do think it's ridiculous; the pace of play has been a combination of the way the golf course is, reachable par 5s and all that normal stuff,” Fitzpatrick said after Round 2. “But it starts with the players as well and starts with the rules officials.”

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Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.

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