Bryson DeChambeau sends crowd wild at The Open with remark to rules official at end of third round

Bryson DeChambeau caused more than a few laughs among fans at The Open after a comment he made to a rules official during his third round.

The American was handed a two-shot penalty at the end of his second round for inadvertently improving the area of his intended swing.

DeChambeau had shot a four-under-par round of 66 to sit in second place on the leaderboard, but was summoned by rules officials at the end of his round.

He had an animated exchange with officials at the scene of the fifth hole, before having a 20-minute discussion with the R&A - who run The Open - in the recorders' office.

READ MORE: Bryson DeChambeau handed two-shot penalty at The Open due to little-known rule

DeChambeau later confirmed he would play in his third round, having initially refused to confirm that he would return on Saturday.

He shot a one-under-par round of 69 to stay in contention on Sunday, with Sam Burns taking the clubhouse lead on 10-under.

As he approached his 18th and final hole, however, DeChambeau called over one of the rules officials to a section of long grass.

He then told the official that his ball had moved without him touching it, in a clear reference to Friday's incident.

The comment was taken in the nature in which it was intended by the official, and the crowd burst into laughter as the American turned towards them and smiled.

"I just got a confirmation, Bryson DeChambeau said his ball moved but he did not cause it to move. He just wanted to let the official know," the commentator said.

How other golf stars reacted to DeChambeau penalty row

While DeChambeau was able to joke about the penalty incident on Saturday evening, he certainly wasn't in the same mood 24 hours earlier.

Max Homa stated that his fellow American would 'never cheat the game of golf', adding that he didn't 'really love how it [the penalty decision] happened'.

Russell Henley, meanwhile, suggested that DeChambeau's high profile - meaning most of his shots were televised - worked against him: "The issue with that to me is the fact that he's on TV every shot. If I played that hole yesterday, and I did the same thing, maybe they don't penalise me because maybe they don't see me do it.

"That's the tough part; he's on TV every single shot."

But reigning two-time Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who has had his fair share of verbal jousts with DeChambeau over the years, was critical of the American and accused him of being 'performative'.

"I'm not particularly fond of him," McIlroy told reporters. "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 [the course], I didn't feel like it was a great look.

"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."

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy accuses Bryson DeChambeau of taking The Open 'hostage' in penalty row

DeChambeau's fourth and final round takes place on Sunday afternoon, with the American due to tee off alongside either Ludvig Aberg or Jackson Suber.