Top golfer threatened to get Trump involved over penalty call

A top professional golfer reportedly threatened to get help from President Donald Trump, according to The Telegraph, after getting heated in response to a penalty call against him.

Bryson DeChambeau currently competes in the Saudi Arabia-backed golf league, LIV, and previously competed in the PGA, where he won the 2020 and 2024 US Open tournaments. He is also a longtime friend and ally of Trump, playing golf with him numerous times over the years, and most recently being appointed to his new Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.

While competing in the most recent British Open, reports emerged that he had allegedly threatened an official after receiving a two-shot penalty, saying that he would get the president involved to try and get the call overturned. DeChambeau had been penalized for "inadvertently improving his lie," meaning that he appeared to try and improve the positioning of his ball after it had landed in a patch of tall grass, giving him a better chance at a swing.

"DeChambeau was fuming with the referees after the second round, when they informed him that he was to be sanctioned for an incident in the thick rough on the fifth, and that his 66 was going to be amended to a 68," The Telegraph's report detailed. "Despite being shown video replays that many, including Rory McIlroy, have since declared as conclusive, he demanded to be taken back to the area where the transgression occurred and, once back there, he angrily remonstrated with Grant Moir, the R&A’s rules supremo."

It continued: "However, this latest revelation will inevitably lead to further charges of entitlement. In his 'Quadrilateral' Substack (a publishing platform), respected journalist and course architect Geoff Shackelford was the first to report that in the 30-minute discussions with the R&A – including chief executive Mark Darbon – DeChambeau threatened Trump’s involvement."

While the outlet noted that the idea of getting the American president involved "seemed comical" on its face, the R&A — the governing body for golf outside of the U.S. and Mexico — was reportedly prepared for the possibility after the recent scandal at the FIFA World Cup.

Trump caused immense embarrassment for the U.S. when he called FIFA and suggested that they reconsider a red-card penalty leveled against the USMNT's star striker, Folarin Balogun. In an unprecedented turn for the World Cup, FIFA ultimately opted to lift Balogun's suspension, allowing him to compete in a match against Belgium, which the U.S. still ended up losing. While all involved have insisted that Trump did not coerce FIFA into lifting the sanction, many critics have argued that it is hard to imagine him reaching out being interpreted in any other way.