McIlroy's Scathing Attack on DeChambeau
Rory McIlroy has launched a blistering attack on Bryson DeChambeau, accusing him of 'holding the tournament hostage' following the dramatic conclusion to the American's second round at The Open. McIlroy did not mince words, stating, 'I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I'm not particularly fond of him.'
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's Reaction to the Incident
McIlroy, who has jousted with DeChambeau on and off the course in the past, 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 added, '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.' 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.'
Impact on Other Players and Tournament
The bigger picture related to tee times for the third round, which did not appear until around 11pm amid the melee. Marco Penge and Justin Thomas were among The Open competitors who openly bemoaned this situation. McIlroy also regarded it as unacceptable. With his Open status unclear, DeChambeau battered balls on the Royal Birkdale driving range until after dark despite refusing to engage properly with waiting media.
'Late night for everyone,' McIlroy 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.'
Reactions from Other Players
Thomas declined media requests after his third round. Penge did take time to expand upon his frustrations. 'It was a bit of a joke, really,' said the Englishman. '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.'
DeChambeau did receive support from his compatriot 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.'
