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Rory McIlroy was not a fan of Bryson DeChambeau’s Friday actions at the Open.
Following completion of his second round at Royal Birkdale, R&A officials informed DeChambeau that video footage showed he improved his path swing by trampling down fescue at the fifth hole. DeChambeau argued his case to no avail and was ultimately hit with a two-shot penalty, leading DeChambeau to threaten to withdraw from the event while hitting balls deep into the Southport night.
DeChambeau ultimately teed it up on Saturday. Players from the early wave were asked about the penalty and DeChambeau’s actions that led to it, with most couching their responses. McIlroy, however, let it fly after shooting a one-under 69 and lamenting not making more of a move up the leaderboard before being asked about DeChambeau.
“I was watching it live. I was up in the players’ lounge watching it with a few other players, and as soon as he made the step into the ball, we all sort of looked at each other, and we were like, that didn’t seem right,” McIlroy said. “Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, I think we all … it was pretty obvious for why.
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“I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing. Again, it’s like, whether it was careless or whether it was intentional, I don’t think it matters. Hopefully it was careless, but I think the two-shot penalty was justified for sure.”
As Golf Digest detailed, the scenes following the R&A’s decision Friday night bordered on the surreal. McIlroy was watching from home and was not a fan of what he was seeing.
“Yeah, look, I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I’m not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it’s performative. I think a lot of it’s for attention,” McIlroy said. “To hold the tournament hostage like that, and to have all of us, players, volunteers, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.”
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When asked if McIlroy thought DeChambeau knew what he was doing, McIlroy responded, “I’m not in his mind. I’m not in his … but it didn’t look good.”
DeChambeau and McIlroy don’t have the best of relationships. Some of that stems from DeChambeau’s decision to defect to LIV Golf, a Saudi soft-power league that McIlroy has been critical of, while McIlroy served as the de facto face of the PGA Tour. DeChambeau also complained last year that McIlroy iced him out during last year’s final round of the Masters.
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Main Image: David Cannon
