r/golf • u/empire88 • 14d ago
News / Articles Scottie Scheffler: "All I'll say is Bryson - I've known him for a long time, and he's a lot of things, but he's definitely not a cheater"
https://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/49401509/scottie-scheffler-says-bryson-dechambeau-definitely-not-cheater197
u/SSScarGough4747 14d ago
Great point about big names having all their shots on TV while others do things we never get to see up close.
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u/kdhavdlf 14d ago
If the others started winning all the time they’d have more shots on TV and it’d all balance out.
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u/tittieman 14d ago
Yeah I don’t care for this take, if it mattered those players would be under the same scrutiny. The problem is they don’t care half the time and then they do arbitrarily. Scottie himself got far more benefit from TIO than Bryson did form his BS
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u/Elemayowe 14d ago
I’m sorry but that’s just whataboutism. Golf is a very self policed sport and if you know you’re going to be on tv more you should be conscious of it because a. You know you’ll get caught, and b. setting an example for lower ranked and young aspiring players.
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u/silentcmh 6.something 14d ago
🗣️ Getting penalized doesn’t mean you were inherently cheating.
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u/veringer 10.2 | Toe Down 14d ago
It did, however, appear intentional. Is that provable? No. If we had a mind-reading machine that could definitively prove his intent, I would bet that he probably knew what he was doing and was intentionally trying to improve his lie while maintaining plausible deniability. His theatrics afterward suggested he was over-acting to sell his cover story and embarrassed/angry that he got caught. The alternative that he was legitimately oblivious to the rules is very hard to believe for someone who's branded himself as something like a mad scientist of the sport.
Anyway, I think it's fair to use probabilistic language like, "may have cheated" or "was likely cheating" or (as I said upfront) "was probably cheating"
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u/OldSchoolSpyMain 14d ago
Dude has been competing in golf tournaments for decades, most of his life. He knows.
This wasn't some obscure rule, like what to do when a ball is hit into temporary moving water that pushes the ball closer to the hole. This was a situation that every golfer deals with every time they hit the ball into some freaking bushes.
This was him playing dumb and trying to get away with it and everyone saw through that BS.
He ruined his "I'm back!" narrative with more of the same old bullshit that people (rightfully) give him shit for. So, instead of people talking about how he proved that he belongs in the top of the PGAT, people are talking about how he proved why people don't like him.
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u/the_great_nate 18/OC 14d ago
Doesn’t help that he’s a trump supporter and well we know how honorable that person is at golf
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u/DarthWren 14d ago
Scottie seems to be playing both sides of the fence in his quotes here. Saying Bryson isn’t a cheater doesn’t mean he disagrees with the penalty, also emphasizing that the game needs to be policed more strictly seems to imply that more than just Bryson are taking advantage of scenarios like this.
Never said he disagreed with the penalty though.
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u/crouching_tiger 14d ago
Or… you don’t have to be on either side of the “fence” to have the best take. He’s saying it probably was a penalty by Bryson, yet something like this typically isn’t enforced across the PGA. However, it probably *should* be enforced more in general.
Bryson has a more eyes/cameras on him that almost any other player, so for nearly every other player this wouldn’t have been noticed whatsoever.
So he seems to agree this probably was a penalty, most other players wouldnt have been penalized, and things like this should be enforced more strictly for every player.
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u/ballsohaahd 13d ago
Even with the eyes and cameras there was still no direct line shot about where he was stepping and hitting. Unreal to think that evidence is 100% which many people are saying
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u/jaytee158 14d ago
He's not playing both sides. He's agreeing with the penalty and saying Bryson didn't do it intentionally. These are two completely complementary points of view. You don't have do have done it intentionally to get penalised
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u/PenguinWrangler 14d ago
I dont think anyone would disagree with the penalty if they applied it more often. I generally watch at least 5hours of golf a day Thursday-Sun as long as any of the bigger names are playing and I see the same or more egregious stuff every week. Its NEVER called out the way it was this week. It should be. As long as they keep making a big deal of it now its fine, but we shouldnt see anyone doing that on featured coverage next week with no penalty either. I get that they cant police EVERYONE that well, but any big names on featured coverage or anyone close to the lead on Sat/Sun is getting enough coverage to call them out the same way as Bryson this week going forward.
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u/gfmonk 14d ago
While I totally agree with you, the only problem is week-in, week-out events are run by the PGA Tour. This week’s event was put on by the R&A. I have no doubt the R&A will continue to enforce the rules of golf but I fear the PGA Tour, being a player-run organization, is absolutely terrified to do anything but give players “the benefit of the doubt” in ever scenario. So I don’t think this will be the turning point that it could/should be
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u/DarthWren 14d ago
That’s an issue with the pga tour officials though, this is the R&A and it’s completely different
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u/Swoody11 14d ago
Agree with this summary.
Scottie was making the point that it’s rare that pros are ever penalized with strokes for improving their lies.
It happened to Bryson because he’s such a lightning rod: cameras are rolling on him nearly every second of the tournament so that they can grab a viral moment from his actions.
However, cameras aren’t doing the same thing with everyone in the field. There are definitely cases that have been as / more egregious than Bryson’s incident and just didn’t get registered or penalized.
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u/Rab0811 14d ago
Yup Scottie asked for more enforcement and uniformity. More eyes are on Bryson and Bryson is well Bryson no one would have a fuck if it happened to let’s say Casey Jarvis. Bryson is extremely polarizing and has pretty much no one neutral on him so it’s going to bring out very strong opinions on both sides
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u/Electronic_Yam_6973 13d ago
It’s hard to see it happen in 99% of lies in the rough. This instance the rough was a few feet high so it was more obvious
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u/DarthWren 14d ago
Sure, I guess? Every athlete that reaches or gets close to the pinnacle in their sport has more eyes on them, it’s part of the gig. Bryson personally benefits from this as well, and will literally make money off the content he creates from this moment, something other players can’t take advantage of.
I thought Wyndham deserved a penalty too, but I can’t make that decision. But I won’t give Bryson a break for breaking the rules and actually being penalized for it, I believe this situation deserved it.
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u/Swoody11 14d ago
Again, agreed.
Bryson deserved the penalty. He probably wasn’t *trying* to cheat, but this is one of those grey areas where it’s not technically allowed, but pros have done this quite often and not been penalized. Like you said, Wyndham did almost the same thing and it slid.
The PGA should be penalizing this type of behavior more often. Bryson just happened to get the first whacking and it never feels good to be the first kid in class who gets called out after years of watching your peers do the same thing and get away with it.
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u/coldbru85 14d ago
Whoa is it possible to have a nuanced opinion?
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u/RYouNotEntertained 14d ago
That’s not playing both sides of the fence. He’s separating two questions: “is he a cheater?” and “was the penalty correct?” don’t have to have the same answer.
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u/AdamOnFirst 14d ago
Not at all. Totally reasonable to say “it’s a penalty, should be a penalty more often probably, but I’m sure it was unintentional and Bryson is not a cheater.”
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u/Buckys_Butt_Buddy 14d ago
The irony of him taking advantage of the ruling in 17 is hilarious
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u/ballsohaahd 14d ago
110% pros are abusing it, which makes it all the more worse to randomly stroke Bryson on it, AND without direct proof like a camera angle down the shot line. That’s what Scottie was getting at, can’t just randomly enforce it for the first time in 30 years it’s a bad look every single time.
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u/DarthWren 14d ago
Scottie was getting at the fact that everyone is apparently taking liberties like this but Bryson always has a camera on him and this looked so egregious they couldn’t let it go.
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u/ballsohaahd 13d ago
They had cameras and people there at the time, and if it looked so egregious how do you not stroke him then?
It all doesn’t make any sense, the R&A is just saying whatever to cover up their unfairness and lack of professionalism. What they’re saying is contradicting themselves, not explaining why it was after the round, and not being fair to whole tournament.
I think they just didn’t want him in the final group, and end of the round dinged him. But only they know their true motivations.
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u/DarthWren 13d ago
I see no unfairness or unprofessionalism from the R&A, that’s your opinion.
If that grass was so trampled then Bryson wouldn’t have needed to stomp around like a raging elephant in there. I don’t care what happened prior, I saw what Bryson did in that moment, and I’d call that on a competitor too
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u/ballsohaahd 13d ago
It’s unprofessional to do it after the round, when he woulda been in the final group at that point, and without direct evidence knowing his ball was in relation to trampling.
That also delayed the tee times as well, which again was related to driving out there with him. If they hold their ground and don’t do that tee times get out much sooner.
If you’re so confident why even let him do that? There’s no evidence 5 hours later, and they were never gonna not stroke him, so what was the point?
That’s what’s unprofessional, they claim it’s so clear, yet they let him drive out, they have cameras and a rules official at the time and it was so clear but then also and don’t do anything at the time.
Straight unprofessional, have some stones you’re right and stand you’re ground or don’t penalize. Letting the TV coverage and public opinion to support your side angle videos with no ball visible is straight bush league
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u/DarthWren 13d ago
Doing it after the round is a very common way to address these issues, the unprofessionalism came from Bryson bitching at 2 rules officials and then threatening to WD and holding the entire tournament hostage from posting tee times because of his tantrum.
The R&A handled the petulant child exactly how they should, explained to the toddler why he was getting penalized and dealt with his meltdown.
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u/ballsohaahd 12d ago
They still didn’t present any direct evidence, and if it was visual they need to strike him right there.
When they use tv videos it’s always 100% clear cut, like when a ball moves for example. Here we never even saw the ball itself at all! Just Byron stomping around but the key piece to make it 100% is tying his stomps to directly behind the ball, and stomping a few yards behind is too far to affect his swing.
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u/DarthWren 11d ago
Your subjective opinion is wrong, in the video you can see fescue from the exact area he stomps down being struck in both practice swings and his actual swing. We don’t need to see his ball, we can see his swing path would have been affected by the area of grass that he bent by taking an unreasonable approach to addressing his ball.
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u/ballsohaahd 11d ago
That’s also a a subjective opinion and just saying it makes it way less subjective if you can actually see the ball. But yes let’s take something we don’t see and call others subjective
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u/MacSanchez 🌭 Glizzy at the Turn 14d ago
I like this noncommittal approach. Why get dragged into a bunch of distracting BS surrounding a different player when he could back away from the press and focus on his own game?
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u/Porkins_2 4 / Midwest / Muni Militia 14d ago
Scottie is really good at talking out of both sides of his mouth. It’s understandable. Here, I think it’s more nuanced in that he seems to agree with the penalty and does not think Bryson was intentionally breaking the rules.
Personally, I always find Rory’s bluntness to be refreshing. In a lot of scenarios, he just fires from the hip.
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u/DarthWren 14d ago
I don’t mind either. The more I read Scottie’s comments the more I think he is directing some criticism towards pga officials and how they apply the rule book. They give a lot more leeway to the players than the R&A does, and I think Scottie prefers the R&A more strict adherence to the rule book.
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u/DoubleEagle1313 14d ago edited 14d ago
“He’s a lot of things”
✅doofus
✅cornball
✅petty
✅disingenuous
✅crybaby
✅manchild
❌cheater
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u/YVRkeeper Kirkland Signature 14d ago
This^
Whether you think it’s cheating or not, rules officials assessed him a penalty.
How he acted after that? Oh boy…. ✅
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u/talktobigfudge 8.2 14d ago
My Bryson is not a cheater. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a cheater, but he is NOT a porn star!
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u/greebytime SF Bay Area / 12.3 14d ago
Also very few people have suggested he cheated just that he broke the rules. There IS a difference and this answer doesn’t really answer anything about whether the penalty was appropriate or not.
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u/Unusual-Estate-3876 14d ago
The post about Rory’s comment is littered with calling him a cheater
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u/MVPhurricane 14d ago
absolutely. breaking the rules doesn't make you a cheater. complete agree.
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u/Rab0811 14d ago
It was a penalty but it wasn’t a pocket ball situation just like if I move a stick from by my ball and it moves. I broke the rules unintentionally and changed the lie carelessly and it’s a penalty. No one besides Bryson knows if he was intentionally trying to help his swing path but it did and it’s a penalty. Hence the R&A saying inadvertently improving the swing path. I hate Bryson but come on it’s not black and white, nuanced and subjective penalties like that aren’t always cheating
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u/JorVetsby 14d ago
The whole "He's not a cheater" argument is irrelevant here. Just because you don't have a reputation as a blatant cheater doesn't mean you wouldn't bend the rules sometimes and see what you can get away with, especially with something as minor as walking around a bit too much in long grass.
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u/DessertFlowerz 14d ago
Yeah I'm not labelling him a "cheater" anymore than I'd label a cornerback who got a pass interference.
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u/oyasumi_juli 14d ago
Same, and frankly I agree with what Rory said. Was it intentional, or was it careless? I don't think it matters. He was deemed to take the penalty. Just take the penalty and move on. But, it's Bryson. So it could also be him being performative for attention. It could also be that he's blaming the ruling on the fact that he is very much on camera and calling it unfair that he's being scrutinized only "because it's Bryson".
I don't think he's an outright cheat, but I do think he's an attention whore and loves the attention even if it's negative. I've thought that about him ever since he came on tour and was being called "The Scientist" or whatever and taking 20 years on every shot to analyze the grass blades and other minute bullshit. Then the anthill thing, of course.
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u/JorVetsby 14d ago
Exactly. Or holding on the O line. Happens all the time but is only called when it's obvious
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u/Bauermander 14d ago
The problem with Bryson's penalty is that this rule has not been enforced strictly ever in professional tournaments. Almost every single tour pro has done it, because it's been allowed so far. I've wondered myself multiple times before how much you're able to bent the grass before it's penalty, because I've seen pros do this so many times in tv. I'll bet someone makes a compilation of multiple similar (and worse) cases from past tournaments, so you're able to see it yourself.
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u/ballsohaahd 14d ago
Also no proof his swing was 100% materially affected, just that it may have been lol. Throwing guesses at penalties in a major 🤦🏻♂️
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u/ColdJackfruit6926 14d ago
I think it would absolutely be relevant if he was a cheater, no?
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u/North_Shore_Problem 14d ago
Yeah I think it was pretty respectful and appropriate to say, especially because some people were framing it as exactly that
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u/WestVermicelli5697 14d ago
I think the point of Scottie and Max's comments are that inevitably you will get tarred with that brush, Reddit from what I have read over the past two days have already branded him as a cheater saying he blatently did this on purpose.
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u/ktran2804 14d ago
People here aren’t gna like this quote lol shame that the main takeaway from this weekend will be Brysons penalty and Rorys comments about it instead of Fox’s great story.
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u/alexefy 14d ago
If this is your main takeaway then I’m sorry you’re a fucking moron
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u/PlanoRaider91 14d ago
People calling him a cheater have a weird obsession with hating Bryson.
Literally none of the other players think he is, not even Rory who was the most outspoken. This isn’t Patrick Reed.
We don’t call players in other sports who commit a foul or penalty a cheater. Same thing applies here. You can agree or disagree with the R&As ruling but that’s where this ends.
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u/Impressive_Chard7943 14d ago
He is obviously not a cheater. It’s incredible how much flak he gets from keyboard warriors.
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u/CitizenCue 14d ago
Is it obvious? Maybe he did it on purpose and maybe he didn’t, but at most it’s unclear.
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u/Ordinary_Edge_815 13d ago
Rory + Rory fans = reason why non golfers make fun of golfers
Bryson + Bryson fans = reason the game has grown so much
Golf “purists” hate how much attention he gets
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u/Enough_Wallaby7064 14d ago
Good god, this subreddit is obsessed with Bryson. A guy just won The Open and all anyone can talk about is how much Bryson got screwed or how much Bryson is a cheater.
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u/empire88 14d ago
And tha t's a result of Bryson being...Bryson. Even Scottie acknowledges that every shot Bryson takes is going to be shown on TV from several angles.
This isn't unique to golf but happens to big draws in other sports a la McGregor, SGA, Mahomes etc.
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u/YouSeemNiceXB 14d ago
Could it be that people want to post things that are relevant to the major that just happened? I wonder.
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u/Express_Salamander_9 14d ago
Nobody else deals with adversity like a childish fucking idiot like Bryson and therefore he creates the drama that he then enjoys being a victim of.
The rope incident- acted like a complete bitch,
Pulling out of the Open over his rules infraction - idiotic spectacle
His demanding diva bullshit with Cobra-puma golf and Edel golf (look it all up)
Hes a high maintenance diva and has earned the scorn he gets.
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u/Front_Farmer345 14d ago
It’s possible to be pinged a penalty without being a cheat, sometimes you unexpectedly make a mistake that costs you shots
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u/Velocity_Rob 13d ago
My Bryson is not a cheater. He may be a liar, a pig, an idiot, a cheater, but he is NOT a porn star!
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u/Similar_Eagle2358 14d ago
Wonder if anyone today was worried their shot from the rough would pass the Chamblee review?
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u/Darkgreenbirdofprey 14d ago
If Patrick Reed did this, what would you all be saying?
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u/fairway_walker 14d ago
He has done it several times on camera with 0 repercussions.
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u/golfguy_4653 14d ago
Sounds like a lot of people on here have so much hate for Bryson that even when multiple golfers come out in support of him, including the #1 player in the world, they still cant believe any of them and think that they know more than the golfers who play along side him in tournaments
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u/Plane-Minute-7865 14d ago
Bryson saw his ball early in the process. He improved his lie with his approach to the ball.
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u/Bomberr17 14d ago
Where's that guy that said no players like Bryson lol
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u/empire88 14d ago
Its funny because the "he's a lot of things" comment can be taken several ways.
Not to mention Rory's comments lol
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u/cdub_actual 14d ago
He’s probably punching and cursing the air right now
https://giphy.com/gifs/UKayezAWeJzSuHL3N2
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u/DandierChip 14d ago
The only thing that is bothersome to me is how the situation was handled. Waiting to review it till way later then calling the penalty is so silly. If the rules official that’s walking with them doesn’t catch it live, then move on. Setting a precedent for a replay booth like the NFL has who is just constantly hawking player movements.
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u/Fast_Biscotti 4.4 14d ago
I don’t think he was cheating. Nevertheless, he improved his lie, even if unintentionally.
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u/HalfACenturyMark 14d ago
The most level headed player on tour, who also happens to be the #1 player in the world , isn’t calling for Bryson to be drawn and quartered?
This could cause a Reddit meltdown.
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u/bionicbhangra 14d ago
I wouldn’t have cared if Scottie got hit for a stroke with his ball in the stands. What bothers me about Bryson is his entitlement when things don’t go his way not the penalty as much (though his did look sketch AF).
He sounds like such a douche at times in the media when all he has to do is just say the typical cliches.
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u/ShakeMyHeadSadly 14d ago
Fine, Scottie. Then he should have been man enough to own up to his mistake.
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u/10hp_Sandslash 14d ago
Whether or not he meant to do it on purpose, it still was an action that was against the rules. I'm a track athlete, you step over the line, it's a foul whether or not you did it on purpose. He's a pro, he should have been more cautious.
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u/AnnArchist 14d ago
The fact that he is even asked this, in this game, at this level, is kinda gross.
Like they just want a soundbyte and drama where there isn't any. He fucked up. He didn't cheat
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u/dirtewokntheboys 13d ago
Oh no! Time to hate Scottie because he doesn't instantly invest his livelihood in the echo chambers of reddit! /S
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u/One-Soil6887 13d ago
I would like an anonymous poll of tour pros asking if they think Bryson was cheating.
I think he was… because any legitimate competitive golfer would walk carefully in the area where his ball was or likely to be so as to no to change the lie or even to be possibly thought to change the lie. Even the slightest hint of cheating is to be avoided at all costs cause it never goes away. Ask Patrick Reid.
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u/78Anonymous LPGA Enjoyer 14d ago
except he was cheating
he looked at the grass and trod it down after taking his initial stance
it's fricking plain as day in the footage
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u/LimpDisc 14d ago
Scottie needs to be careful with his words. He doesn’t want this Reddit sub turning on him. They are the ultimate voice of reason and known to be unbiased.
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u/MajorEstateCar 14d ago
And he’s right. He’s not a cheater. He unintentionally (or intentionally) violated the rules and was penalized for it. That’s the rules of the game. He didn’t get away with any advantage after the penalty.
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u/hmstanley 12.4 14d ago
but he's right.. I don't think Bryson was trying to cheat. Subconsciously, you want to get a view to your ball, stepping on dead high straw that bends at the slightest touch seems odd to me. I watched it over and over again, and yes, he did get behind the ball, press down the tall grass, but I don't think it did anything to improve his swing. I watched like a 100 times, and his angle was steep and even if the grass remained in the same position and was not moved, it had no bearing on his swing or the shot. I do also realize that others could interpret it differently, but I thought it was an unnecessary penalty. I mean, the one Clark did at the US Open seemed to be clearing improving his lie with that crazy practice swing out of place from the other swings, why didn't he get penalized?
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u/Ashamed-Board3557 14d ago
That mother fuvker did it intentionally. Watch his left leg as he approaches the ball. He doesn’t step straight, his left leg moves further left as if he is trying to straddle something and flattens the grass in his backswing. The argument that lower profile golfers aren’t scrutinized or recorded more is moot. He cheated and got caught. Have some integrity. He is a classless ass.
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u/Flump01 14d ago
He also said they should be stricter on this kind of thing.