Scottie Scheffler aims subtle dig at Rory McIlroy over Bryson DeChambeau Open comments

Ryan Fox won his maiden major title at The Open on Sunday, but it wasn't just the New Zealand native who made the headlines for his performance across the four-day tournament.

Bryson DeChambeau's antics at Royal Birkdale caused a major stir in The Open's 154th edition.

DeChambeau, who finished the tournament six shots behind the winner Fox, received a two-shot penalty at the end of day two for trampling on long grass.

The 32-year-old was punished for 'inadvertently improving his lie' on the fifth hole and had an animated exchange with officials at the scene before a 20-minute discussion with the R&A - who run The Open - in the recorders' office.

There were even some suggestions that DeChambeau would pull out of the tournament altogether, with his agent telling reporters: "We'll see if he shows up tomorrow”.

The American then posted on X on Friday evening (July 17) to confirm he would continue playing, stating: "Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don't agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let's get it”.

DeChambeau's reaction to the punishment wasn't taken lightly by several of the sport's biggest figures, including Rory McIlroy, who accused the two-time major winner of 'holding The Open hostage'.

"I won't pretend to be up here and defend Bryson," McIlroy told reporters on Saturday. "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."

"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," said McIlroy.

"Then when I heard that he was called in by the rules officials, I think we all [thought] it was pretty obvious for why.

"Yeah, 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."

Scottie Scheffler reacts to Rory McIlroy's comments

While many agree with McIlroy's views on the situation, others have gone against the Northern Irishman.

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The crowd gave DeChambeau a loud cheer at Royal Birkdale as he teed off on day three, and world No.1 Scottie Scheffler has since defended his fellow American, while taking a subtle swipe at McIlroy.

“I think golf's different in a sense of a lot of other sports because my biggest rival week in and week out is the golf course that we're playing," Scheffler said ahead of the 3M Open in Minnesota.

"I mean, I could never stop somebody from doing anything in golf.

"I felt like when I played basketball, there would always be rivalries in basketball because you're going to play defense against a person and that is much more personal in a sense like because I'm actively trying to stop.

"Like, if you and I were going to go out and play one-on-one, like it would turn into a rivalry because I'm actively trying to stop what you're doing, but in golf, we're always competing against ourselves on the golf course.

“I've never been a big fan of personal jabs. I don't think that rivalry is a big thing in golf just because, as I said, my biggest rivalry week in and week out is the golf course.”

Scheffler wasn't a fan of McIlroy's 'personal jab' towards DeChambeau and believes his biggest rival every week is the golf course itself.

The four-time major winner finished The Open on seven under par and is set to compete at the 3M Open for the first time in his PGA Tour career.