The roar that erupted from the ninth tee at Royal Birkdale on Saturday afternoon could have been mistaken for a hole-in-one. Instead, it was Bryson DeChambeau pulling the driver from his bag – a theatrical flourish that had the crowd on its feet before he had even swung. The 32-year-old LIV Golf star had just glared at one fan who shouted “get the driver out”, then yanked the club in an over-elaborate motion, firing a drive to just short of the green. The putt for birdie from under six feet didn’t drop, but by then the message was clear: DeChambeau was playing to the gallery.
The performance began just before 3pm as he returned to the driving range he had frequented until beyond 10.30pm the night before – after a two-shot penalty on Friday evening had sparked a stand-off with officials. DeChambeau argued about the penalty and delayed leaving the course by pounding balls on the range in the dark. On Saturday, he stormed into the R&A’s offices after his round demanding his scorecard.
“DeChambeau pulls driver to crowd roar at Birkdale after McIlroy calls him 'performative' over two-shot penalty.”
Rory McIlroy had already made his feelings clear, calling DeChambeau “performative” and accusing him of seeking “attention”. In an interview, the Northern Irishman pointed to the “performative” nature of his rival’s behaviour late on Friday. While DeChambeau may argue against most of what McIlroy said, he cannot dismiss that accusation after Saturday’s display.
The drama unfolded as Sam Burns, DeChambeau’s playing partner, leads The Open by two shots from Ryan Fox – who shot a joint-majors low round of 62 – and Si Woo Kim. All eyes may be further down the scoreboard once the action returns on the famous links, with DeChambeau playing the pantomime villain. Who knows what Sunday will bring, but this is pure theatre.