'I'm not fond of him' - McIlroy accuses DeChambeau of holding Open 'hostage'

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McIlroy said the two-shot penalty was "justified for sure"

ByMatt GaultBBC Sport NI senior journalist

Published34 minutes ago

Rory McIlroy has accused Bryson DeChambeau of holding the Open Championship "hostage" during the dramatic scenes at Royal Birkdale on Friday evening.

DeChambeau was penalised two strokes for "inadvertently improving his lie" before hitting his second shot at the fifth during the second round.

The two-time US Open champion was involved in heated and lengthy discussions with R&A rules officials before the penalty was imposed, dropping him from one off the lead to three back, at five under par for the tournament.

"I think there's no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing," said world number two McIlroy, who was beaten to the 2024 US Open title by DeChambeau.

"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 scenes involving DeChambeau and tournament officials, when they returned to the scene of the infraction after the round, delayed the release of Saturday's tee times.

"[It was a] late night for everyone," added McIlroy.

"I won't pretend to 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.

"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."

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McIlroy on 'justified' DeChambeau penalty

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DeChambeau looked to have lifted himself to one shot off the lead on Friday - finishing seven under par with a four-under 66 - but was punished after being deemed to have trampled on long grass close to his ball on the fifth hole.

There was doubt about whether he would continue playing at the tournament before the 32-year-old said the decision would "fire" him up in his quest for a first Claret Jug.

When asked if DeChambeau trampled on the grass intentionally, McIlroy said: "I'm not in his mind. But it didn't look good."

McIlroy, who carded a third-round 69 to sit two under, added: "Every shot is on camera. There are a lot of guys that play this week and the shots aren't on camera.

"So you can say that that's unfair, 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 that's a different story."

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Figure caption,

Why DeChambeau was hit with a two‑stroke penalty at The Open

Earlier on Saturday, R&A chief executive Mark Darbon said the decision to impose the sanction on DeChambeau was "clear-cut".

"It was an unfortunate decision but really clear-cut from a rules perspective," Darbon told BBC Radio 5 Live.

However, he would not be drawn on whether DeChambeau threatened to pull out of the tournament.

"It's fair to say there was some emotion around that and we will keep some of the aspects of that discussion private," Darbon said.

He added: "There was some emotion but I empathise with that. Bryson has played a great round of golf, is in contention at a major championship, he wants to win the golf's original major.

"We were focused on the ruling and making a fair assessment."

Having declined post-round interviews with reporters on Friday night, DeChambeau made his feelings clear about the incident on social media.

"Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don't agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let's get it," he wrote on X.

He also posted photos on Instagram which had been doctored to show him levitating above the Birkdale rough.