Bryson DeChambeau Is Officially Back To Being A Cry Baby

I was actually starting to come around on Bryson DeChambeau.

Between the YouTube content, interacting with fans, and some of the personality he had shown over the last couple of years, I thought maybe we'd finally turned the page. Maybe the old Bryson was gone.

Well...

That didn't last very long.

Friday at The Open Championship felt like a complete throwback to the version of Bryson that drove golf fans crazy.

After being assessed a two-shot penalty for improving the conditions affecting his swing in the rough, DeChambeau completely unraveled. The R&A reviewed video after his round and ruled that he had breached Rule 8.1, costing him two strokes and dropping him from one shot off the lead to several shots back. Bryson argued the ruling, saying it wasn't intentional, but the officials stood by their decision.

Then came the cameras catching him mouthing, "I'm not going to play tomorrow."

Come on, man.

You're one of the best golfers in the world. You're still in contention at the biggest championship in golf. You don't get to threaten to take your ball and go home because you didn't like a ruling.

That's not what champions do.

Then, just when I thought it couldn't get any more dramatic, Bryson jumped on Instagram with what was supposed to be a fired-up response, complete with memes and a "this fires me up" message before confirming he'd be back for the weekend. Instead of looking tough, the whole thing came across as trying way too hard. If you're going to answer your critics, let your scorecard do the talking.

That's always been my issue with Bryson.

Everything feels like it's turned into content.

Every controversy becomes a social media moment.

Every disagreement becomes a production.

Sometimes it's okay to be mad. Golf is frustrating. Every golfer has wanted to throw a club or yell after a bad break.

But threatening to skip the weekend of The Open because you got a penalty? That's a terrible look, especially when the rule was reviewed and upheld.

The irony is Bryson is talented enough to make everyone forget about this.

Go shoot 65 on Saturday.

Go win the Claret Jug.

Nobody will remember the penalty.

Instead, the conversation became about Instagram captions, memes, and whether or not he was actually going to tee it up.

Personally?

I'm rooting for the funniest possible ending.

I hope Bryson plays incredible golf over the weekend.

I hope he climbs all the way into contention.

I hope he's standing on the 18th tee on Sunday with a chance to win.

And then...

I hope he finishes second.

By exactly one stroke.

Not because I dislike his game.

Because sometimes golf has a way of humbling you, and Friday felt like Bryson making himself the story instead of the championship.

The Open is bigger than any one player.

Act like it.