Rory McIlroy rips 'performative' Bryson DeChambeau following Open Championship third round

Other golfers weren't as willing to side with officials. Most toed a more diplomatic line, including Russell Henley, who commented, "I don't really have a strong opinion." The six-time PGA Tour winner, 37, added that DeChambeau's popularity may have worked against him.

"He's on TV every shot," Henley said. "If I play that hole... and I did the same thing maybe they don't penalize me because they don't see me do it."

Max Homa and Xander Schauffele were among the other golfers to back DeChambeau.

McIlroy, DeChambeau have long history

McIlroy's comments are the latest in what's been an icy yet sometimes respectful history between the two golfers. 

In 2025, the two were paired in the final round of McIlroy's breakthrough Masters win, and afterward, DeChambeau told reporters that McIlroy "didn't talk to me once all day."

"I didn't know what he was expecting. We're trying to win the Masters. I'm not going to try to be his best mate out there," McIlroy reflected ahead of the 2026 PGA Championship.

In 2024, McIlroy lost the 2024 U.S. Open by a stroke to DeChambeau, failing to make a pair of short par putts over the final three holes.

"Rory is one of the best to ever play," DeChambeau said afterward, per Sky Sports. "For him to miss that putt," he continued, "I'd never wish it on anybody."

McIlroy previously praised DeChambeau after his first U.S. Open win in 2021, saying, "He's got a conviction, and he's following it." (h/t Sky Sports)

McIlroy also defended DeChambeau from criticism earlier in his career in 2021 after heckling became a growing problem.

“I certainly feel some sympathy for him," McIlroy noted, adding that while "There are certainly things that he has done in the past that have brought some of this stuff on himself ... I think he has been getting a pretty rough go of it of late.

"It's actually pretty sad to see because he, deep down, I think, is a nice person," McIlroy added, per The Guardian. “All he wants to do is try to be the best golfer he can be. And it just seems like every week something else happens."