Through two rounds of the US Open, Bryson DeChambeau remains in an excellent position to pick up a second Major scalp, with the big-hitting American carding rounds of 67 and 69 to sit at four-under-par.
However, that score could have been so much worse, if it hadn't been for a huge slice of luck towards the end of his first round which led to a birdie, when a bogey was more than likely on the cards...
Blocking his tee shot right on the par 5 fifth, his 14th hole of the day, DeChambeau found his golf ball and was able to get free relief due to a temporary immovable obstruction being in his line of sight.
Now, at Pinehurst No.2 on Friday, DeChambeau has explained the situation, with the LIV Golfer stating: "First off, going out to that position knowing I missed it right, I'm thinking, do I have a lie, first off; do I have a swing, second off. Then I looked at it, like whoa, that cable is right in line with the flagstick where it was coming down, and I know it's an immovable obstruction, I believe.
"So I asked the rules official. I said, Is this relief? And he goes, Yeah, you're within one club length of it in the line-of-sight. So, yes, you get relief, and you can go to the opposite side. So I used the rules to my advantage there. I had a swing. I could have hit a shot. But I used the rules to my advantage to where I had a cleaner, better lie and was able to get it up on the green. Sometimes you're lucky, and sometimes you're not. In that situation, I was very lucky".
As mentioned, the relief meant he was able to drop away from the tree line and, consequently, he was able to strike an iron into the green, with a following two-putt giving him a fourth birdie of the day on Thursday.
"I looked over to them (rules officials), I said, what is the situation here? I see this thing in my way. I believe it's -- is it a TIO or whatnot? And he goes, Yes, it's absolutely a TIO. It's within one club length," explained DeChambeau.
"He wanted to make sure when the flag was put in that it was within one club length. He did that, and he said, Absolutely, it's a free drop. We went over to the other side and placed it down. And I was just trying to find a good line, and luckily I dropped it into a good position and was able to go from there. So he was awesome, yeah".
