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Rory McIlroy was not about to defend Bryson DeChambeau. He opened his mouth to bury him after his round Saturday."I am not particularly fond of him," McIlroy said Saturday at the British Open. "I think a lot of it's performative. I think a lot of it's for attention."The trigger for McIlroy's rant was a two-shot penalty DeChambeau earned a day earlier for improving the line of his backswing in the deep rough at Royal Birkdale. He then argued so long that McIlroy said that he held the Open Championship hostage while players and volunteers had to stand around waiting for him.McIlroy watched the whole thing on television in the players' lounge. He thought the penalty was deserved."I think there's no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing," McIlroy said. "So 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."What did Bryson DeChambeau do?It happened on the fifth hole in Friday's second round. DeChambeau drove into deep rough on the short par-4 hole, then moved his club through the tall grass behind his ball as he set up his second shot. Under Rule 8.1 a player cannot improve the area of his intended swing, and officials ruled that is exactly what he did.The review dragged on. Officials drove DeChambeau back out to the fifth hole for roughly 20 minutes to walk through it, and cameras caught him arguing his case, hands flying, unable to change the outcome. The score he thought was a 66 became a 68. He fell to 5 under, three behind leader Lucas Herbert.DeChambeau skipped his media obligations Friday night and word got out that he had told officials he might not play at all.No lost loveWhen McIlroy says he is not particularly fond of DeChambeau, that's an understatement. He was one of the loudest voices when DeChambeau left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf and the two have been sniping at each other ever since.At the Masters earlier this year, DeChambeau and McIlroy played the final round together. DeChambeau complained McIlroy never said a word to him."I'm not going to try and be his mate," McIlroy said at the time.Where to watch the 2026 British OpenThe Open Championship is airing exclusively across the NBC family of networks, including USA Network, Golf Channel and streaming on Peacock. Here's a look at the daily TV schedule:Saturday, July 18, Round 35-7 a.m: Open Championship ( USA Network )7 a.m.-3 p.m: Open Championship ( NBC / Peacock )Sunday, July 19, Final round4-7 a.m: Open Championship ( USA Network )7 a.m.-2 p.m: Open Championship ( NBC / Peacock )British Open Tee TimesGet the latest tee times and groups for The Open Championship 2026 here.The Open Championship oddsFollow the 2026 Open Championship with USA TODAYKeep up with all the action at Royal Birkdale Golf Club with USA TODAY's live leaderboard, stats and more .
