McIlroy addresses rumours of DeChambeau playing Irish Open with classy response

A more friendly reaction...

The American was issued a two-stroke penalty on Friday for improving his line, and he threatened to quit the tournament, holding up the release of the third-round tee times, while he also stayed late at the course range, preventing workers from going home.

When asked about the debacle after his Saturday round, McIlroy said: "Late night for everyone.

"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 would end up finishing in T40 on -1, nine strokes behind winner Ryan Fox, with DeChambeau ending up in T14 on -4.

The Irish Open takes place on September 10 this year, at Trump International Golf Links, in Doobeg, Co. Clare.

The field is yet to be decided, but there have been rumours of DeChambeau making an appearance, given his friendly relationship with US President Donald Trump.

When quizzed about this possibility, McIlroy issued a much friendlier response than his words the day before.

He said: "I mean, I think that would be great for the tournament, absolutely. Having someone like Bryson at the Irish Open, yeah, it would be great for the tournament.

He was then asked about whether the Irish Open would become part of the PGA Tour, to which he responded: "If it's going to stay -- I guess next year it might change because of the Ryder Cup in Adare, but if it's going to stay in that September date, I don't see how it becomes part of the PGA TOUR season when the PGA TOUR is going to be played from February to August.