McIlroy: DeChambeau 'held The Open hostage' over 'performative' rules drama

Rory McIlroy has issued a scathing attack on Bryson DeChambeau over his 'performative' behaviour and ‘holding the tournament hostage’ during his rules fiasco at The Open.

DeChambeau appeared to have carded a four-under 66 at Royal Birkdale on Friday evening to move within a shot of the halfway lead, only to be involved in a lengthy ruled dispute with R&A officials.

The two-time major champion was adjudged to have improved the line of his swing in long grass at the par-four fifth, resulting in a two-shot penalty and dropping him back three strokes behind halfway leader Lucas Herbert.

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DeChambeau returned to the course to contest his decision and continued to defend his case in the recorders area, with the decision not being confirmed for nearly 80 minutes after he walked off the 18th green.

"Late night for everyone," said McIlroy. "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.

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"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."

Tee times for Saturday's third round weren't released until nearly 11pm due to the delay, labelled a 'joke' by Marco Penge and questioned by Justin Thomas on social media, with DeChambeau going to the range post-round before declining interviews.

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DeChambeau said on social media that he was 'disappointed' and 'didn't agree' with the ruling, which dropped him back to tied-fifth, although McIlroy insisted that R&A officials made the correct decision.

"I was watching it live," McIlroy added. "I was up in the players' lounge watching it with a few other players, and as soon as he made the step into the ball, we all sort of looked at each other and were like 'that didn't seem right'.

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"Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, it was pretty obvious why. I think there's no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing.

"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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More to follow...

When is The Open live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with wall-to-wall action from the final men's major of the year throughout the weekend on Sky Sports Golf.

'Sunday at The Open' will kick off the final-round coverage from 8am on Sky Sports Golf, with early play on Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports App ahead of full coverage on Sky Sports Golf from 10am. Featured Groups will also be available on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports App.