Rory McIlroy has launched a scathing attack on Bryson DeChambeau, accusing the American of being “performative” and “holding the tournament hostage” after the extraordinary scenes that marked the end of DeChambeau’s second round at the Open. The Masters champion did not mince words, stating, “I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I’m not particularly fond of him.”
Penalty for improving swing path
DeChambeau was penalized two strokes for a rules infringement on the 5th hole of round two on Friday. The two-time major winner was accused of improving his swing path by treading down long grass. The sanction came after DeChambeau revisited the area with rules officials, where, amid heated conversation, he appeared to threaten to withdraw from the Open. Shortly after midnight on Friday, DeChambeau confirmed he would tee up in round three.
McIlroy, who has a history of jousting with DeChambeau on and off the course, expressed no sympathy. “I was watching it live,” McIlroy said. “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.’ Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, it was pretty obvious for why.”
McIlroy: Penalty justified
“I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing. 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 added. When asked whether he thought DeChambeau’s actions were intentional – the Open organisers insisted they were not – McIlroy said, “I’m not in his mind. But it didn’t look good.”
Delayed tee times frustrate players
The controversy caused significant delays, with tee times for the third round not released until around 11pm. Players like Marco Penge and Justin Thomas openly criticized the situation. “It was a bit of a joke, really,” Penge said. “I’m staying at home this week, which is an hour away, and not getting a tee time until 11pm is not great, really. We could have at least got a heads-up for what time the first tee time was going to be. Obviously there was a lot of commotion, so that delayed things.”
McIlroy also regarded the delays as unacceptable. “Late night for everyone,” he said. “I think a lot of it’s performative. I think a lot of it is for attention. 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.”
Support for DeChambeau
Despite the widespread criticism, DeChambeau received support from fellow American Max Homa. “I only saw one angle and in my opinion I didn’t agree with the ruling,” Homa said. “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.”
