Rory McIlroy, when asked about Bryson DeChambeau’s Open Championship rules controversy, says it was “pretty obvious” why DeChambeau was penalized and criticized his reaction.
“Yeah, look, 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, players, volunteers, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.”
McIlroy’s comments came Saturday after his Open third round, one round after DeChambeau was penalized two strokes for his actions in the fescue grass to the right of Royal Birkdale’s 5th hole. DeChambeau had found his ball in that area after a wayward tee shot and, as he measured how to play it, stepped on and around the grass before hitting his second shot. USA Network cameras showed the sequence, and after the round, rules officials questioned whether DeChambeau, in maneuvering, had improved the area around the ball, which isn’t allowed under Rule 8.1b of the Rules of Golf.
An argument ensued. The two-time major winner and officials revisited where he had played the shot before making their ruling, and, multiple times, the pro appeared agitated at the discussion. After a meeting back in the scoring tent, the R&A announced that DeChambeau would be retroactively penalized the two shots, and he dropped from second place and a stroke out of the lead to a tie for fifth and three back — leading to a discussion of whether he would return for Saturday’s third round. After the decision, DeChambeau hit balls on the range until about 10:30 p.m. local time, and his agent, Brett Falkoff, told reporters at the course on Friday night that DeChambeau was undecided as to whether he would continue playing in the Open and that he would announce his decision Saturday morning. “He’s a lot of things,” Falkoff said. “He’s not a cheater.”
DeChambeau did return, as did McIlroy, who after his round on Saturday said that it was “pretty obvious” why DeChambeau was penalized.
“I was watching it live,” he 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, I think we all — it was pretty obvious for why.
“Yeah, 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.”
The comments continue a back-and-forth between McIlroy and DeChambeau that has included final-round pairings at the 2024 U.S. Open, which DeChambeau won; and last year’s Masters, which McIlroy won — and DeChambeau said McIlroy didn’t talk to him during play. Asked whether DeChambeau knew what he was doing on the 5th hole on Friday, McIlroy said “it didn’t look good.” A reporter then asked if similar incidents happen often and just aren’t seen.
“Yeah, it’s hard,” McIlroy said. “Every shot is on camera. There’s a lot of guys that play this week and the shots aren’t on camera. So you can say that that’s unfair or whatever, or it might happen more than it does. It’s obviously impossible to police everyone, and that’s why it is, for the most part, a self-policing game.
“I think when there is obvious evidence like there was last night, then obviously that’s a different story.”
