The 2026 Open Championship, held at Royal Birkdale, concluded the major championship season with Ryan Fox emerging as an unexpected winner. However, the spotlight has also been on the escalating rivalry between Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau.

Ahead of the 3M Open, Scottie Scheffler shared his perspective on this rivalry, noting that golf rivalries differ from those in other sports. He explained, "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, it would turn into a rivalry because I'm actively trying to stop what you're doing."

DeChambeau faced criticism before The Open from analysts Nick Faldo and Brandel Chamblee. Faldo argued that DeChambeau lacked the "strategy" needed to succeed in links golf, accusing him of hitting his driver as far as possible and hoping for the best rather than carefully "threading" it down the fairway. Chamblee criticized DeChambeau for focusing more on YouTube golf star Grant Horvat than competing against top players like McIlroy and Scheffler.

In response, DeChambeau stated in a media appearance after his round at Royal Birkdale that he had been very "strategic," directly addressing Faldo's comments. Despite a seemingly strong 4-under 66 round, DeChambeau was assessed a two-stroke penalty for improving the area around his backswing on the fifth hole. Regarding the penalty, Scheffler commented, "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."

Scheffler also expressed a personal view on DeChambeau, saying, "I won’t pretend to be up here and defend Bryson," adding, "I’m not particularly fond of him. I think a lot of it is performative. I think a lot of it’s for attention."

The Open Championship and the rivalry continue to be focal points as the PGA Tour season progresses.

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