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Rory McIlroy unloaded one of his biggest shots of the day on Saturday at The Open during the press conference.
McIlroy, 37, unloaded on Bryson DeChambeau when asked about his conduct on Friday after the 32-year-old was assessed a two-stroke penalty after a lengthy and heated interaction with rules officials well after the round.
“I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson,” McIlroy told reporters after shooting a 1-under 69 in the third round. “I’m not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it is performative. I think a lot of it’s 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 looks on from the first green during the first round of the U.S. 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, everyone — waiting on him to depart, I didn’t feel like it was a great look.”
The reigning two-time Masters champion said he had no doubts that DeChambeau improved the line for his backswing; and that his actions “didn’t seem right.”
“I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of 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 think the two-shot penalty was justified, for sure.”
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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, as former Open champion Xander Schauffele called the situation unfortunate.
“He said he didn’t do it intentionally, and it’s unfortunate that he got penalized because he was playing incredibly well and obviously he’s still playing incredibly well,” Schauffele said, “so he’s obviously going to have something to prove these 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 of 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 speaks to a rules office before playing his shot on the 18th hole during the third day of the British Open Golf Championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, on Saturday, July 18, 2026. (Peter Morrison/AP)
If DeChambeau falls within two strokes of the winner on Sunday, the discourse over his two-stroke penalty will not dissipate anytime soon.
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McIlroy is tied for 30th at 2-under par for the tournament, and would need an excellent round and a lot of help to get himself into contention on Sunday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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