Bob Goalby signing an incorrect scorecard at the 1968 Masters. Dustin Johnson mistakenly grounding his club in a bunker at the 2010 PGA Championship. Tiger Woods’ bad drop at the 2013 Masters. The list of golf’s all-time rules blunders is well-known to golf fans – and it almost got longer on Thursday at Oakmont.
If you weren’t paying close attention, you probably missed what exactly happened to Bryson DeChambeau on the fourth hole at Oakmont during his opening round. Luckily for the two-time US Open champ, a nearby rules official didn’t.
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After driving it in a fairway bunker down the right side of the par 5, DeChambeau hacked one out back to the fairway. But after his golf ball came to rest in a crosswalk, he decided to take a drop. The only problem? DeChambeau didn’t drop it.
Instead, he placed his ball at the nearest point of relief. But after a rules official alerted him to his mistake, DeChambeau quickly picked up his ball and made a proper drop. Have a look thanks to six-time European Tour winner Tony Johnstone:
That’s a first! In 45 years as a pro I’ve never seen a professional take a free drop and PLACE the ball by mistake. How strange. pic.twitter.com/BANmFSKNm4
— Tony Johnstone (@TonyJohnstone56) June 12, 2025
Disaster averted. Had DeChambeau played his third shot after placing the ball instead of dropping, it would have been a two-shot penalty. Even though he would have been hitting from essentially the same spot. So his ensuing par would have been a double-bogey and his disappointing first-round 73 would have turned into a 75.
Considering this happened so early in the tournament and with DeChambeau not anywhere in the lead, it wouldn’t have been as bad of a blunder as those previously mentioned ones. But it would be hard to earn a more boneheaded penalty.
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Of course, the Golf Twitter sleuths were all over this one. And some still contend that DeChambeau should have gotten a penalty for not marking his ball or not marking where he was taking his drop or not taking full relief, but again, a rules official was right there.
Anyway, for more on the rules of when and how to take a drop, check out our Rules articles. Even Bryson might need a refresher before Friday’s second round.
