The 32-year-old was ruled to have unintentionally improved his lie when trampling on the grass before his second shot on the par-four fifth. <\/p>\n
Grant Moir, chief referee at The Open, said in a statement that DeChambeau was penalised under rule 8.1, which restricts what a player may do to improve any of the protected conditions affecting the stroke. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis includes the area of a player\u2019s intended swing. So an improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke. Now, I\u2019ll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson\u2019s case,\u201d Moir said. <\/p>\n
\u201cA player is allowed to fairly take their stance by taking responsible actions to get to the ball and take a stance, if in some situations that improves the condition affecting the stroke, but when doing so, the player must take the least intrusive course of action to deal with the particular situation and is not entitled to a normal stance or swing. <\/p>\n
\u201cI would reiterate this rule applies even when there\u2019s no intention to improve the area, as was the case with Bryson.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fox and Kobori will resume their tournaments tonight (NZT), with tee times in the first half of the day. <\/p>\n
Fox will play alongside American two-time major winner Xander Schauffele at 9.30pm (10.30am local time), while Kobori is paired with Canadian Nick Taylor in the 10.35pm (11.35am local time) tee time. <\/p>\n