Bryson ruling: 'That didn't seem right'
McIlroy doesn't mince words about 'performative' DeChambeau drama; reaction mixed. Sam Burns is the 54-hole leader of The Open.
Bryson DeChambeau hung tough Saturday after a rough Friday debacle (Stuart Kerr/R&A via Getty Images)
SOUTHPORT, England — Rory McIlroy is nothing if not brutally honest, and whatever filter he has was fully turned off when the subject of Bryson DeChambeau’s rules controversy Saturday.
If he had prepared notes, McIlroy could not have been more pointed in his comments about DeChambeau’s rules situation that lingered late Friday night in the second round of the Open Championship.
Barring another record-setting effort on Sunday at Royal Birkdale, McIlroy likely fell out of contention with a Saturday 69 that leaves him 2-under par and eight shots back of leader Sam Burns. But that didn’t stop him from speaking his mind when the subject of DeChambeau’s two-stroke penalty to be broached. DeChambeau was dinged for improving his line when getting to his ball on the fifth hole, a ruling that caused considerable consternation and at one point had the two-time major winner threatening not to play the third round.
“I was watching it live,” McIlroy said. “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 we were like, ‘that didn’t seem right.’ Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, I think we all — 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.”
DeChambeau was deemed to have violated Rule 8.1 which covers “fairly taking a stance” and stipulates that “you cannot deliberately stamp down, sweep aside or flatten extra grass merely to create a better platform or more room for the swing.”
Even after going to the offending spot well right of the fifth fairway, the R&A rules officials — which are, in part, manned by DP World Tour officials — were not swayed by DeChambeau’s vehement defense.
The entire situation took more than an hour to resolve and resulted in tee times for Saturday’s third round needing to be held back to determine whether DeChambeau would be slotted at 7-under or 5-under.
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McIlroy, who has had his moments with DeChambeau and had a tough second-place finish to him two years ago at the U.S. Open, didn’t dance around the subject.
“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.”
Rory McIlroy is a long way back with one round to play at Birkdale (Stuart Franklin/R&A via Getty Images)
McIlroy was asked if the situation DeChambeau encountered is something that occurs more often than is known but is just not seen in such a high-profile manner.
“Yeah, it’s hard. Every shot is on camera,” McIlroy said. “There’s a lot of guys that play this week and the shots aren’t on camera. 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.”
The validity of the penalty drew a mixed reaction from players both for and against the ruling.
“Yeah, I mean, looks to me like he improved his line, and that’s the rules of golf,” said Shane Lowry. “Yeah, it was interesting watching it last night. None of us were expecting it. I was watching the end of the golf — yeah, that’s the rules of golf. It’s unfortunate for him, but that’s the way it is.”
Others came to DeChambeau’s defense, including Max Homa said he felt bad for DeChambeau if there was any belief that he did something on purpose. (The R&A said it did not believe his act was intentional.)
“I only saw one angle, and in my opinion I didn’t agree with the ruling,” Homa said. “I know there’s another angle that — side on, it’s always hard to tell if it improves anything.
“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. 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
