Rory McIlroy rips "performative" Bryson DeChambeau to shreds: "Not particularly fond of him"

Masters champion Rory McIlroy says he's "not particularly fond" of Bryson DeChambeau after the American held The Open "hostage" on day two of the final men's major of the year.

DeChambeau was hit with a two-shot penalty at Royal Birkdale after LIV Golf star was deemed to have "inadvertently improved the area of his intended swing" before playing his second shot on the fifth hole at Royal Birkdale. 

The 32-year-old had sent his drive miles right and R&A officials believe he trampled the long grass several times with his feet before playing his shot. 

DeChambeau believed that he had signed for a 66 and would begin the third round only one stroke off the lead, but as soon as he walked off the 18th green he was told he was under investigation for potentially breaching rule 8.1. 

He was whisked back out to the scene of the incident on a golf cart where he was observed in a furious back-and-forth with the chief referee.

On a dramatic evening, DeChambeau threatened not to continue his quest for a first Claret Jug.

He refused to tell reporters whether he was going to carry on and hit balls on the range until it was pitch black.

In utterly bizarre scenes, DeChambeau asked a group of reporters how his swing looked and even offered snacks.

His agent, Brett Falkoff, told one journalist that his client is a lot of things, adding: "But he isn't a cheater."

At 12:02am, DeChambeau broke his silence with a post on X, explaining he disagreed with the penalty and he was "fired up" for the weekend. 

Several players have offered their thoughts on the situation, with many of his Ryder Cup teammates defending him. 

But McIlroy tore the LIV Golf star to shreds on Saturday afternoon, telling a group of reporters after carding a 69 that he believed DeChambeau's behaviour was "performative". 

"I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson," said McIlroy. "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 said he was watching the dramatic situation play out live from the players' lounge with a group of other golfers.

"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," said McIlroy.

"Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, I think we all [thought] it was pretty obvious for why.

"I think there's no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing.

"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 acknowledged the situation was different for DeChambeau as all of his shots are televised. 

"There's a lot of guys that play this week and the shots aren't on camera," said McIlroy. 

"So you can say that that's unfair or whatever, or it might happen more than it does. 

"It's obviously impossible to police everyone, and that's why it is, for the most part, a self-policing game.

"I think when there is obvious evidence like there was last night, then obviously that's a different story."

As for McIlroy's own chances this week, he appears to have very little hope of winning his seventh major title. 

At the time of publication, he is eight shots off Sam Burns' lead. 

"If I go out tomorrow and get to double digits, you never know, but yeah, I certainly am not going out tomorrow thinking like I've got a great chance to win," said McIlroy.