Bryson DeChambeau’s bid to win The Open has taken a hit after he was given a two-shot penalty on a dramatic evening at Royal Birkdale.

The American looked to have lifted himself to one shot off the lead on seven under par with a four-under 66 in round two, but was whisked away by rules officials when he walked off the course to discuss a rules infringement.

DeChambeau was accused of trampling on long grass close to his ball on the fifth hole.

After a long discussion with Open officials, it was confirmed he had been given a two-shot penalty for “inadvertently improving his lie”, pushing him back to five under par and three shots behind leader Lucas Herbert.

DeChambeau’s participation in the rest of the tournament remains in doubt after the two-time US Open champion, who has never won The Open, refused to confirm he would definitely play in Saturday’s third round.

He refused to answer questions when he walked past the assembled media after emerging from the recorders’ office, where he spent more than 20 minutes discussing the issue with officials including R&A chief executive Mark Darbon.

All he said was: “Are you guys having a great night? I’m having a great night.”

DeChambeau then added that he was off to “hit some balls” and headed off to the driving range, where he posed for a selfie with fans before talking to his team on the practice area.

DeChambeau hit a wayward drive into deep rough on the fifth hole of his second round on Saturday.

His ball was found and videos surfaced of the 32-year-old American seemingly trampling down some knee-high rough behind his ball.

DeChambeau was later deemed to have not “played the course as it is found”, breaking Rule 8.1 which revolves around player’s actions that “improve conditions affecting the stroke”.

This includes the area of the player’s intended swing – which DeChambeau was found to have interfered with.

“Bryson has been penalised two strokes for inadvertently improving the area of intended backswing on fifth hole,” said Grant Moir, the R&A’s executive director, governance.

Moir added: “I’ll stress that this applies even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson’s case.”

DP World Tour rules official Graeme Storm, who is working as a BBC Sport summariser for 5 Live radio at The Open, said: “He’s improved the line of play for his club to be able to hit the golf ball.

“Whether that’s intentional doesn’t really matter. If you improve your line of play you’re improving your lie so you get the general penalty of two shots.”

Once DeChambeau holed that birdie putt on the 18th it was a dash back to the media centre to write about how brilliant he had played.

Within about half an hour, the whole picture had dramatically changed.

A big screen showed live images of DeChambeau talking with the rules officials and nobody needed a body language expert to say the discussion was not going his way.

Arms were folded and then hands were pointing. His expression was one of pure frustration.

When he jumped back on the buggy back to the clubhouse area, dozens of journalists had gathered to wait for the chance to ask DeChambeau questions.

He refused and walked straight to the recorders’ hut. The wait was long and the suspense was high.

DeChambeau eventually emerged and batted off questions as he marched towards the range, where he hit balls in the darkness until almost 22:30 BST.

It was pure drama. And even the most seasoned golf reporters cannot recall anything quite as bizarre happening at an Open Championship.

On the course, DeChambeau rarely does anything conventional.

Whether it is using single-length clubs, bulking up his body or switching to LIV Golf, he is known for an idiosyncratic approach which polarises perception.

On an attritional Friday afternoon at Royal Birkdale – before all the post-round chaos – DeChambeau bucked the trend once again.

The two-time major champion made mincemeat of increasing afternoon winds to put himself into contention at a tournament which few thought he could win.

Earlier this week, three-time Open champion Nick Faldo – the last Englishman to claim the Claret Jug back in 1992 – insisted DeChambeau had little chance of winning on the Merseyside links.

Why? “He has – and I’d say it to his face – zero clue of strategy,” Faldo said on Sky Sports.

DeChambeau has previously shown an attitude that he can simply outpower courses, leading Faldo to believe he is all brawn and no brains.

He did not help change these perceptions at this year’s Masters. He boasted he could outhit Augusta National and ended up going home at the halfway stage after the course bit back.

Further missed cuts followed at the US PGA Championship and US Open, leaving DeChambeau arriving at Birkdale aiming to avoid becoming the first multiple major winner to miss all four cuts since 1990.

After his opening round of 67, DeChambeau refused to speak to the media but, in a short interview with Open organisers, talked up his “strategy” on three occasions.

It was not subtle. On Friday, his golf did the talking.

Former European Tour winner Andrew Murray, who followed DeChambeau around the course for BBC Radio 5 Live, was impressed by his patience and sensible approach.

“Sometimes he did try to outpower the course, but what was most impressive was his short game. He played very linksy. And he has got the game to win around here, no question,” said Murray.