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Rory McIlroy unloaded one of his biggest shots of the day Saturday at The Open during the press conference.
McIlroy, 37, unloaded on Bryson DeChambeau when asked about his behavior on Friday after the 32-year-old was handed a two-stroke penalty following a lengthy and heated interaction with rules officials well after the round.
“I’m not going to pretend to be up here defending Bryson,” McIlroy told reporters after shooting a 1-under 69 in the third round. “I’m not very fond of him. I think a lot of it is performative. I think a lot of it is for attention.”
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(Left) Rory McIlroy watches his shot from the ninth tee during the second round of The Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England. July 17, 2026. (Right) Bryson DeChambeau watches from the first green during the first round of the US Open golf tournament in Southampton, New York, on June 18, 2026. (Bill Streicher/Imagn Images; Bill Streicher/Imagn Images)
“To hold the tournament hostage like that,” McIlroy continued, “and to have all of us — players, volunteers, everybody — waiting for him to go, I didn’t feel it was a good look.”
The reigning two-time Masters champion said he had no doubt DeChambeau improved the line of his backswing; and that his actions “didn’t seem right.”
“I think there’s no doubt he improved the line in his backswing,” McIlroy said. “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 definitely think the two-shot penalty was warranted.”
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his tee shot on the 7th hole during the third day of the British Open Golf Championships at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Peter Morrison/AP)
Other golfers were a little more sympathetic to DeChambeau, who former Open champion Xander Schauffele called the situation unfortunate.
“He said he didn’t do it on purpose and it’s a shame he got penalized because he played incredibly well and obviously he’s still playing incredibly well,” Schauffele said, “so obviously he’ll have something to prove in the next two days.”
DeChambeau responded to the two-stroke penalty with a solid third round as he went 1-under par to finish the day at 6-under for the tournament. He is four strokes off Sam Burns, who leads at 10 under for the tournament after shooting 5 under par on Saturday.
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Bryson DeChambeau of the United States talks to a rules office before teeing off on the 18th hole during the third day of the British Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Peter Morrison/AP)
If DeChambeau falls within two strokes of the winner on Sunday, the discourse about his two-stroke penalty won’t go away anytime soon.
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McIlroy is tied for 30th at 2-under par in the tournament and would need an excellent round and a lot of help to get into contention on Sunday.
