McIlroy accuses DeChambeau of trying to ‘hold the tournament hostage’ at The Open

SOUTHPORT, England — Rory McIlroy saved one of his best shots at the The Open Championship on Saturday for Bryson DeChambeau.

The world No. 2 didn’t hold back when asked for his thoughts on DeChambeau’s conduct late Friday, when the American was involved in a lengthy, heated post-round exchange with rules officials as they reviewed whether he had inadvertently improved the path of his swing on the fifth hole.

DeChambeau was penalized two shots and there were doubts over whether he would show up for the weekend. The extraordinary late-evening scenes also delayed the release of the tee times for Saturday’s third round.

DeChambeau assessed two-stroke penalty at The Open

Watch the heated back-and-forth and the announcement of the R&A's two-stroke penalty assessed to Bryson DeChambeau following Round 2 of The Open, putting DeChambeau three strokes off the lead.

“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.”

“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.”