Rory McIlroy let it be known after his third round at The Open Championship: He was not pleased with how Bryson DeChambeau handled being assessed a two-stroke penalty the previous day.
The 2014 Open champion said after his round Saturday, July 18 that he watched DeChambeau’s fated shot on the fifth hole of Round 2 from the players lounge at Royal Birkdale.
“As soon as he made his step into the ball, we all sort of looked at each other and were like, ‘That didn’t seem right,'” McIlroy said. “And then when he was called in by the rules officials, I think we were all … it was pretty obvious why.”
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McIlroy said he had “no doubt” that DeChambeau affected his lie on a ball that went into the deep, tall grass off the fairway on No. 5 in the second round. The two-time U.S. Open champion stomped on the grass as he made prepared to play the ball on what would turn out to be a bogey. After he finished his round thinking he was one shot behind leader Lucas Herbert in the final pairing, DeChambeau was taken aside by R&A rules officials, setting off nearly an hourlong discussion that included a trip back to the scene of the infraction and into the tent off the 18th green.
Officials ruled DeChambeau had unintentionally improved his lie, violating Rule 8.1, which restricts what a player can do to improve, or alter the conditions of the stroke, the intended area of the stroke, which includes the backswing and downswing. The rule calls for the player to take the least-intrusive path to the ball in order to not violate this rule, which can be a violation, whether it was done accidentally or not.
What did Rory McIlroy say about Bryson DeChambeau?
Afterward, DeChambeau left to hit balls on the driving range deep into the night, reportedly threatening to withdraw from the tournament if the penalty held up. The Saturday tee times were not released until about 11 p.m. local time with the first tee time scheduled for about 9 a.m. Justin Thomas was among the golfers pleading on social media for the tee times to be announced so players could rest.
That delay is what seemed to set off McIlroy the most, saying DeChambeau’s actions “held the tournament hostage.”
“I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson. I’m not particularly fond of him,” McIlroy said. “I think a lot of it’s performative, I think a lot of it’s for attention, and yeah, to hold the tournament hostage like that and have all of us, volunteers, players, everyone waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.”
McIlroy and DeChambeau have developed a rivalry that became the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf after DeChambeau became the face of the rebel golf league in 2022. DeChambeau bested McIlroy at the 2024 U.S. Open before McIlroy returned the favor in the final pairing at the 2025 Masters.
The penalty dropped DeChambeau to 5 under for the tournament. He teed off with Sam Burns at 3:30 p.m. local time and was even par for the round through 13 holes.
McIlroy carded a 1-under 69 for the third round and will take a 2 under into the final round.
How to watch The Open 2026
Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2026 British Open will start on USA at 5 a.m. July 18 and 4 a.m. July 19 before switching to NBC at 7 a.m. both days. Featured group and hole streaming is available on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s subscription streaming service, throughout the tournament.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rory McIlroy comments on Bryson DeChambeau: He held The Open ‘hostage’
Reporting by Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Palm Beach Post
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dan Rorabaugh, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
