Rory McIlroy rips Bryson DeChambeau after penalty, 'performative' actions at The Open Championship: 'I'm not particularly fond of him'

Rory McIlroy was not having Bryson DeChambeau's antics at The Open Championship.

McIlroy absolutely ripped DeChambeau after his third round at Royal Birkdale on Saturday, and called out the LIV Golf star for taking the British Open "hostage" after what happened with his two-shot penalty on Friday night after Round 2.

"I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson," McIlroy said. "I'm not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it's performative. I think a lot of it's for attention.

"To hold the tournament hostage like that, and to have all of us, volunteers, players, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn't feel like it was a great look."

After DeChambeau finished his second round and walked off the green just a shot of the lead, officials approached him about a possible rules violation. That led to a long, chaotic scene at Royal Birkdale that spilled out onto the course, where DeChambeau reenacted said violation.

DeChambeau was seen in an animated and heated discussion with rules officials out at the spot of the infraction, later calling them "crooks", according to reports, and even reportedly threatened to withdraw from the tournament after they hit him with a two-shot penalty. 

DeChambeau then went to the range and hit balls as darkness fell over the course, and was reportedly humming, singing and handing out snacks. He didn't speak about the incident with reporters on site, and eventually confirmed late on Friday that he'd remain in the tournament. The penalty brought him three back of the lead at the midway point.

The moment absolutely overshadowed what was a great start for DeChambeau. He entered the week having failed to make a cut or post a round under par at a major championship in 2026. 

While some may view it as controversial, McIlroy had no issue with the penalty. He said he was watching DeChambeau's round live in the players' lounge when it happened, and thought it was "pretty obvious" why he was called in by rules officials. 

"I think there's no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing," McIlroy said. "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."

McIlroy posted a 1-under 69 on Saturday to get to 2-under on the week. He was still six shots off the lead when he hit the clubhouse, thanks in part to a 62 that Ryan Fox posted in the early wave. That marked the third 62 of the tournament. If McIlroy is going to make a run on Sunday, he'll need to have a perfect outing and get some help from the rest of the field. 

But as for DeChambeau, McIlroy clearly didn't like how things played out on Friday night.

"Again, I'm not in his mind," McIlroy said when asked if DeChambeau knew what he was doing. "But it didn't look good."

What other players are saying

Xander Schauffele

“I haven't spoken to him or heard what he said, but he's just stepping in how you'd normally step in to hit a golf shot. I think the R&A said something along the lines of whether it's intentional or not, it's still a penalty.

“It's a tough spot to be, obviously, when you're in high brush, kind of having to dance around to get to your golf ball is a tricky thing. It's not something we're used to doing that often. You imagine you give him the benefit of the doubt; he said he didn't do it intentionally, and it's unfortunate that he got penalized because he was playing incredibly well and obviously he's still playing incredibly well, so he's obviously going to have something to prove these next two days.”

Max Homa

“I only saw one angle, and in my opinion I didn't agree with the ruling. I know there's another angle that — side on, it's always hard to tell if it improves anything.

“All I know is I've known Bryson for a very long time, and he's an interesting human at times, but I know he would never cheat the game of golf. I don't really love how it happened. It's not that the R&A said that he did it intentionally, but that rule as a professional golfer feels like it's written inherently to protect against people trying to improve their lie. So I just hope that people don't have that — that doesn't create a narrative because I don't believe that of him.”