Bryson DeChambeau has responded to an honest admission from Rory McIlroy just days after his rival slammed him.
McIlroy revealed he is ‘not particularly’ fond of the LIV Golf star following a rules controversy at last week’s major.
He also labelled DeChambeau’s behaviour ‘performative’ after he threatened not to play the rest of the major event.
That drama was caused by officials at Royal Birkdale docking the American two strokes for improving his lie.
DeChambeau was left enraged by the decision and it was agreed that the incident was accidental, but he was still punished.
McIlroy then went on to launch an attack on his rival, accusing him of ‘holding the tournament hostage’ as he appealed the penalty.
But after the rant last Friday, two days later, the back-to-back Masters champion made an honest statement.
“Having someone like Bryson at the Irish Open would be great for the tournament, absolutely,” McIlroy admitted.
The reigning Irish Open winner and proud Northern Irishman wants to see DeChambeau feature, as he continues to make headlines on the LIV Golf Tour and regarding a PGA Tour return.
And after the third round of LIV Golf UK on Saturday, DeChambeau responded to McIlroy’s invite to the Irish Open, which takes place from September 10 through to September 13.
He said: “I’d love to go play. I love playing internationally and that’s what we do here at LIV. Anywhere I can go to support great golf in a good place, I’m all for.
“So we’ll see if it fits in and it makes sense for the schedule. That’s really all I have to say.”
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McIlroy’s scathing attack
McIlroy invited DeChambeau to the Irish Open just two days after he took aim at the LIV star for his Open controversy.
After DeChambeau was penalised for improving his lie on the fifth hole, he got involved in a heated exchange.
And as he appealed to officials at Royal Birkdale, those behind him were held up, while, as the row continued post-round, official tee times for the next round were delayed.
McIlroy wasn’t best pleased with his actions at the time, saying: “Yeah, look, 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.”
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McIlroy may not be DeChambeau’s biggest fan, but he knows that he still attracts a huge audience to every event.
And LIV Golf players have an exemption to play at the Irish Open on the PGA Tour, with the top-five ranked players invited.
DeChambeau will be in that five, so if he does manage to find space in his schedule, he could tee it up with McIlroy again.
The tournament is set to begin on Thursday, September 10 and run through until Sunday, September 13.
