Bryson DeChambeau's five-word response after Rory McIlroy's brutal Open attack

Bryson DeChambeau insisted he had not heard Rory McIlroy's scathing criticism of his conduct at The Open after being questioned following the third round at Royal Birkdale.

As DeChambeau walked from the recorder's area towards the practice range after signing for a third-round 69, he was asked by Expressen golf reporter Johan Larsson whether he had heard McIlroy's explosive comments to the media on Saturday. 

After a brief pause, DeChambeau replied with just five words: "I have not heard anything."

Watch DeChambeau's reaction here: 

The brief response came only hours after McIlroy launched an extraordinary attack on the LIV Golf star, saying he is "not particularly fond" of DeChambeau. The World No.2 also accused him of holding The Open "hostage" following Friday's controversial rules incident.

DeChambeau found himself at the centre of the biggest talking point of the 154th Open after being handed a two-shot penalty for “inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing” before playing his second shot at the par-4 5th during the second round.

The American had initially believed he had posted a superb 66 to move to 7-under, just one shot off the lead entering the weekend. 

However, moments after leaving the 18th green he was informed he was under investigation for a potential breach of Rule 8.1 after R&A officials concluded he had repeatedly trampled long rough before playing his shot.

A visibly frustrated DeChambeau returned to the scene with the chief referee to argue his case, but the penalty was later upheld, changing his second-round score from 66 to 68 and dropping him from 7-under to 5-under.

The ruling briefly cast doubt over whether DeChambeau would even continue in The Open after he appeared to suggest to an R&A official that he might withdraw. 

However, the two-time U.S. Open champion confirmed extremely late on Friday evening that he would tee it up as scheduled.

But it all caused a delay to the release of tee times, which infuriated players and fans. 

While several players, including Ryder Cup teammates Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, defended DeChambeau over the incident, his arch-rival McIlroy offered a far more critical assessment after his own third-round 69.

"I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson," McIlroy told reporters at Birkdale.

"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."

McIlroy revealed he watched the situation unfold live from the players' lounge alongside several other competitors.

"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,'" McIlroy said.

"Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, I think we all thought 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."

Watch McIlroy's reaction here: 

DeChambeau's third-round 69 leaves him at 6-under heading into Sunday's final round, four shots behind leader Sam Burns, who fired a brilliant 65 alongside him to reach 10-under. 

Burns takes a two-shot advantage over Ryan Fox and Si Woo Kim into the final day as he bids for his first major title in Southport.

DeChambeau, meanwhile, will attempt to overturn a four-shot deficit in pursuit of a first Claret Jug and third major title.

To further add to the drama, DeChambeau was seen having an animated discussion with R&A Chief Executive Mark Darbon after the third round. 

Whether DeChambeau chooses to address his rules controversy and McIlroy's remarks after Sunday's final round remains to be seen, but for now his response to the week's biggest talking point has amounted to just five words:

"I have not heard anything."