Rory McIlroy does not like Bryson DeChambeau. He finds him to be “performative.”
The Irish-born golfer expressed his true thoughts on the American after a rules controversy during the second round of The Open Championship caused a long delay to the end of the day.
McIlroy has no doubt that the golf tournament officials made the correct decision based on the definitive video evidence. DeChambeau’s complaint rubbed him the wrong way.
Bryson DeChambeau received a two-stroke penalty for improving his lie at The Open.
The rules controversy heard around the world took place during the second round of The Open Championship on Friday. Bryson DeChambeau finished one stroke off of the lead through 36 holes, but he was assessed a two-stroke penalty that dropped him from -7 to -5.
The R&A determined after a lengthy review that he improved his lie on the fifth hole. Regardless of whether it was a careless mistake or an intentional strategy move, they found that DeChambeau committed a violation of Rule 8.1. His foot stepped down on the grass behind his ball. The folded fescue created additional space for his backswing.
DeChambeau learned of the potential rules violation around 8:00 p.m. on Friday. He proceeded to plead his case over the course of the next ~90 minutes. A rules official brought him back to the scene of the crime. They argued back and forth about the ruling.
It reached the point that DeChambeau actually threatened to boycott the remainder of the tournament because of his frustration. His agent compared the situation to a similar incident with Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open. They were not thrilled.
Rory McIlroy did not hold back his thoughts on the rules controversy.
When asked about the rules controversy, Rory McIlroy made it clear that, in his opinion, the R&A made the correct decision. The golfers in the clubhouse saw it happen in real time and made immediate note of the
“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.”
He just hopes that Bryson DeChambeau did not improve his lie on purpose.
“I’m not in his mind. I’m not in his — but it didn’t look good.”
Regarding everything that played out after the round, McIlroy questioned why it became as big of a deal as it did.
“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.”
The six-time major champion and 2014 Open Championship winner also revealed his true feelings toward DeChambeau. Even beyond what happened over the last 24 hours, he is not a fan.
“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.”
Shots fired! You can listen to the full conversation here:
Here is video of Rory's full quotes on Bryson and the ruling.
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterNS) July 18, 2026
On the actual penalty: "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… pic.twitter.com/HgtWi1jISe
A story that was starting to die down as DeChambeau played out his third round at The Open has new life. It will be interesting to see whether he is asked about McIlroy’s comments on Saturday evening. I find it hard to believe that he won’t. SPICY!