ESPN analyst Pat McAfee liked Rory McIlroy’s response to the Bryson DeChambeau debacle at the British Open.
McAfee said Monday that he likes the “amount of moxie” it takes for McIlroy to say what he actually thinks about DeChambeau during the age of media training and pr teams.
“I like that [Rory McIlroy] just stepped in the batter’s box and said, ‘I’ll say it. I hate that guy,’ McAfee said on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “In 2026, this is rare.”
McAfee continued that the Northern Irishman knew this would become a big deal, but spoke his mind anyways.
The former Colts kicker is referring to McIlroy’s response to DeChambeau holding The Open “hostage” after he was penalized two strokes for improving his swing path by stepping on long grass behind his ball.
DeChambeau objected to the penalty and requested to be driven out to the scene of the incident, where he spent time discussing and demonstrating it with rules officials.
Scores for Friday’s round were not published until 11 p.m., and he reportedly threatened to get President Donald Trump involved in the matter.
“Late night for everyone,” said McIlroy. “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.”
McIlroy added that he watched the incident on the fifth hole live, with a few other players, and they thought DeChambeau’s actions weren’t right in the moment.
The 2026 Masters winner said he had “no doubt” DeChambeau improved his back swing, but hoped that it was not on purpose.
“Hopefully it was careless, but I think the two-shot penalty was justified, for sure.”
In the moment, the ruling brought DeChambeau from 7under par to 5-under and proved to be significant in the tournamemt’s outcome, as the two strokes saw him tied for 14th instead of tied for sixth.
McIlroy finished 1-under par on the tournament and tied for 40th.
The Northern Irishman announced he would not compete again until FedEx St. Jude Championship, saying the PGA Tour and FedExCup no longer generate the same excitement they once did.
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