While revealing that he’s not a fan of Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy said Saturday he had no doubt that the two-time major champion deserved to be penalized for improving “the area of his intended swing” in tall grass on the fifth hole Friday at The Open.
McIlroy, the two-time reigning Masters champion and a six-time major champion, was in the players’ lounge watching on TV with other golfers when DeChambeau stamped down on different patches of tall grass near his ball on the fifth hole at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
“As soon as he made the step into the ball, we all sort of looked at each other, and we were like, ‘That didn’t seem right,'” McIlroy said. “Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, I think it was pretty obvious for why.”
DeChambeau vehemently disagreed with the ruling as officials shuttled him back to the scene of the alleged misdeed before he could enter the scoring trailer to sign his second-round scorecard.
A popular but divisive figure in the world of golf, the LIV Golf star originally posted a 4-under 66 to move to 7 under, one shot behind Australia’s Lucas Herbert. Now, rather than waking up Saturday in second place and part the final pairing for the third round, DeChambeau entered the weekend three behind Herbert instead of one, his bogey 5 at the fifth hole changed to a triple-bogey 7.
“Yeah, I think there’s no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing,” McIlroy said following his 1-under 69 third round that left him at 2 under after 54 holes. “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.”
McIlroy also expressed his disdain with DeChambeau holding off on signing his scorecard due to arguing his case, which delayed The R&A from releasing Saturday’s tee times.
McIlroy said he was also irritated that DeChambeau took so long to argue his case before signing his scorecard. It delayed The R&A from releasing tee times for Saturday’s third round.
“Late night for everyone,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, look, 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. 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.”
Meanwhile, Max Homa and other golfers came to DeChambeau’s defense, disagreeing with The R&A’s ruling and saying DeChambeau would never break the rules of golf.
“All I know is I’ve known Bryson for a very long time, and he’s an interesting human at times, but I know he would never cheat the game of golf,” Homa said after his 3-under 67 in the third round left him 3 under for the tourney. “I don’t really love how it happened. It’s not that the R&A said that he did it intentionally, but that rule as a professional golfer feels like it’s written inherently to protect against people trying to improve their lie. I just hope that doesn’t create a narrative because I don’t believe that of him.”
Xander Schauffele, a two-time major champion, saw the replay and did not think DeChambeau committed a penalty.
“He’s just stepping in how you’d normally step in to hit a golf shot,” Schauffele said. “I think the R&A said something along the lines of whether it’s intentional or not, it’s still a penalty. It’s a tough spot to be, obviously, when you’re in high brush, kind of having to dance around to get to your golf ball is a tricky thing. It’s not something we’re used to doing that often.”
R&A CEO Mark Darbon defended the decision, which he said was based on the rules in a BBC Radio interview on Saturday.
“It was an unfortunate decision but really clear-cut from a rules perspective,” Darbon said. “So, obviously, our team discuss it. The final decision sits with our chief referee and we have a responsibility to our championship and to the rest of the field.
“And so, irrespective of which player this affected it’s the same decision. From a rules perspective, it was clear-cut.”
