Rory McIlroy has slammed Bryson DeChambeau for his reaction to receiving a two-shot penalty at The Open, accusing his rival of attempting to hold tournament organisers "hostage" and admitting: "I'm not particularly fond of him."

Following the second round at Royal Birkdale on Friday, DeChambeau was penalised two strokes for "inadvertently improving his lie".

As he approached his ball in the rough on the par-four fifth, DeChambeau appeared to step down on a patch of long grass to make more space for his swing.

The American was then embroiled in a long dispute with officials, during which he seemed to say he would withdraw from the tournament if handed a penalty.

DeChambeau's punishment was not confirmed for nearly 80 minutes after he left the 18th green, and he then skipped his media duties with tee times for Saturday's third round not being released until 11pm.

In a post on Instagram, DeChambeau mocked tournament organisers by posting a series of edited images showing him floating above the area from which he took the shot.

DeChambeau eventually did return to the course for the third round, carding a one-under score of 69 to end the day four shots behind leader Sam Burns.

But McIlroy was not impressed with his rival's conduct, having clashed with DeChambeau on several occasions in the past.

"I think there's no doubt that he improved the line of his backswing. Whether it was careless or whether it was intentional... I don't think it matters," McIlroy said when asked about DeChambeau's punishment.

"Hopefully it was careless, but I think the two-shot penalty was justified, for sure.

"I won't pretend to come 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."

Photos from day three at The 154th Open.@nikoneurope | #PhotosOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/Gc8dGBRolc

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2026

McIlroy is two under for the tournament, tied for 29th alongside eight other players, with one round to play.

Scottie Scheffler was also asked about DeChambeau's penalty after making par in his third round, and he suggested he will have plenty to say about the incident once the tournament is over.

"I don't really have a ton to say on it," Scheffler said. "Actually, I do have a ton to say. I haven't decided exactly what I want to say publicly yet.

"I do have some thoughts. I just don't really feel like now is the time or place for me to comment. We're in the middle of a tournament, and I'm focused on what I need to do.

"It's a tough situation, but it's not a road I want to go down today. I have a tournament to focus on, and I'm going to go hit a few balls and hit a few putts. 

"It's my job to go out there and shoot a low round. Anything outside of that is outside my control."