Expectations were high for Bryson DeChambeau heading into the 2026 PGA Championship. Coming off back-to-back runners-up at the last two PGAs, DeChambeau planned to bomb his way around Aronimink on the way to his first PGA Championship.
But in Thursday’s opening round, Aronimink’s challenge stumped the two-time major champion, sending his score soaring. And then, when a wayward tee shot landed on a staircase, the rules stumped DeChambeau in a moment that exemplified his disastrous opening round.
Here’s what you need to know.
DeChambeau plummets down PGA Championship leaderboard on Day 1
DeChambeau’s PGA Championship went sideways right from the start. When his approach shot went over the steep green at 11, his second hole of the day, Bryson putted it 40 feet by and made his first bogey.
He hit it long on the 13th, too, dropping another shot to quickly fall to two over for the tournament.
It didn’t get better from there.
He closed out his first nine with back-to-back bogeys to shoot 39 on the front. After settling down to make six consecutive pars after the turn, DeChambeau got back on the bogey train at 7.
At 8, he lost his tee shot well right of the green, then chipped his second off the other side of the putting surface. A double bogey followed, sending DeChambeau plummeting down the leaderboard into a tie for 106th at seven over.
While many holes seemed to stump DeChambeau on Thursday, it was at the par-4 2nd where the Rules of Golf got the better of the star LIV Golf player.
DeChambeau debates rules official after sending shot into staircase
Aronimink’s 2nd hole presents an interesting test for pros at this week’s PGA Championship. The par-4 is only 406 yards long, but it features a sharp dogleg left. That proved too much for DeChambeau on Thursday.
He was already sitting at four over when he arrived at the 2nd, his 11th hole of the day. He chose a wood off the tee but mishit it, sending it ballooning well right of the fairway, directly toward a grandstand.
Eventually, Bryson’s ball came to rest on the first step of a staircase leading to the grandstand.
That’s where the rules confusion began. Moments later, cameras caught DeChambeau next to his ball in a deep discussion with a PGA rules official.
At the start of the video, a frustrated DeChambeau declares, “I am so confused right now” as the official tries to explain the rule to him.
The rule in this case? The grandstand represents a temporary immovable obstruction, which is considered an abnormal course condition governed by Rule 16 of the Rules of Golf.
The USGA defines temporary immovable obstruction as “a structure that is temporarily added on or next to the course, usually for a particular competition, and is fixed or not readily movable. Examples of TIOs are temporary tents, scoreboards, grandstands, television towers and toilets.”
In the case of a TIO, the player normally takes relief by dropping a ball in a relief area based on the nearest point of complete relief.
That seems to be where DeChambeau and the rules official got crossed up. With his ball on the stairs, DeChambeau had no doubt he was permitted a free drop. But he initially thought the rules official had declared that the muddy area in front of staircase was not the nearest point of relief, which would have allowed DeChambeau to take a drop farther from the grandstand. But the official corrected him.
“Oh, is there relief on this?” DeChambeau asked the official, gesturing at the muddy area.
“Yes,” the official responded.
“Oh it is,” DeChambeau said back to him, finally understanding the situation. DeChambeau then looked at his caddie, gestured at the official and said, “He said it wasn’t.”
With that cleared up, DeChambeau hit a 156-yard shot to 22 feet, two-putting from there to finish with a par.
You can watch a video of the moment below.
While DeChambeau made a mess of the 7th and 8th holes, his 16th and 17th of the round, he ended the round on a high note. DeChambeau made his first birdie of the tournament at the par-5 9th, finishing with a six-over 76 in Round 1.
That means on Friday DeChambeau won’t be fighting to get into contention; he’ll just be fighting to make the cut.
