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Bryson DeChambeau made light of his meltdown at The Open by mocking rules officials toward the end of his third round at Royal Birkdale.
On Friday night, a furious DeChambeau briefly threatened to pull out after he was docked two shots for ‘inadvertently’ improving his lie on the fifth hole.
In a remarkable scene, the American could be seen angrily arguing with officials over whether he stomped down long grass around his ball.
The incident quickly went viral, with Rory McIlroy accusing his rival of holding the tournament ‘hostage’ and wanting ‘attention.’
DeChambeau did not appear fazed by McIlroy’s comments or by occasional heckles from the crowd, with some fans calling him a ‘cheat.’ Instead he acted up at the end of his third round after finding the rough once more.
According to the Golf Channel – and much to the amusement of the crowd on the 18th hole – the American brought in a rules official and told him that his ball had moved but he did not touch it.
Bryson DeChambeau made light of his meltdown at The Open during his third round
On Friday, DeChambeau was embroiled in a dramatic argument with rules officials at The Open
The American could be seen clashing with officials over whether he stomped down long grass
‘I was away from it!’ DeChambeau insisted, raising his hands and playfully stepping away from the ball as he feigned innocence.
In another clip, the LIV Golf star could be seen sticking his arms out in faux shock as he dramatically approached his ball.
After finishing his round, DeChambeau became embroiled in fresh controversy. He was seen in an animated conversation with R&A chief executive Mark Darbon, with the 32-year-old understood to have issued a bizarre demand to be handed his second-round scorecard. The request was denied.
Earlier on Saturday, McIlroy had accused DeChambeau of holding The Open hostage after he waited late into the night to decide whether he would pull out in protest at his two-shot penalty.
It meant the rest of the field did not learn of their official tee times until around 11pm. Englishman Marco Penge described that as ‘a joke’, while McIlroy said: ‘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.’
On Saturday, he called over an official and told him that his ball had moved but he didn’t touch it
McIlroy, who finished his third round at two-under par heading into the final day, said the decision to hand DeChambeau a two-shot penalty was the correct one.
‘I was watching it live,’ he added. ‘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.’
