When Rory McIlroy Felt ‘Sympathy’ for the LIV Golf Rebel Bryson DeChambeau After He Faced a Series of Criticism From Golf World in 2020

2020 was a fresh start for the American professional golfer Bryson DeChambeau. After transforming his body and game, he was finally able to win a major, the U. S. Open Championship. However, it is also the year he got into a lot of issues with golf fans and the media. And his colleague at the time, Rory McIlroy, was one of the golfers who supported him. 

McIlroy and DeChambeau play for the rival leagues now. While the Irish man supports the PGA Tour, the latter chose to play for the LIV Golf Invitational Series. Since both chose different paths, it might be shocking for the new golf fans that there was a time the Tour loyal once backed DeChambeau when he needed it the most. 

“I certainly feel some sympathy for him,” McIlroy said in DeChambeau’s defense in a 2020 press meet. “Because I don’t think that you should be ostracized or criticized for being different.” 

DeChambeau had lost to Patrick Cantlay in the 2020 BMW Championship after battling him in a 6-hole playoff. Notably, his past actions, including blaming his driver for playing poorly on the Open’s first round and firing his caddie during a tournament, had led people to hate him. 

Therefore, fans taunted him severely when he lost to Cantlay in the Tour event. They even went on to shout ‘Brooksy,’ referring to the online feud DeChambeau had with Brooks Kopeka at the time, while he took his shots at events. 

“He (DeChambeau) is his own person,” McIlroy said. “He thinks his own thoughts, and everyone has a right to do that.” 

Rory McIlroy doesn’t think DeChambeau is completely innocent

“There are certainly things that he has done in the past that have brought some of this stuff on himself,” McIlroy said. According to the Northern Irishman, the fans didn’t start to torment the Mad Scientist for nothing. He even told the media that DeChambeau is not “completely blameless” regarding this matter. 

Read more: A Bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau Left Everyone Absolutely Shocked With His ‘Weird Moment’ in 2020

However, he still didn’t agree with the unruly behavior of fans. As a colleague of DeChambeau, McIlroy believed the American golfer “is a nice person” and is doing everything with his might to be a better player. 

Notably, Patrick Cantlay also revealed his thoughts on fans taunting his opponent at the BMW Championship. According to him, DeChambeau got into the issues because of his “attention-seeking” behavior.

Watch This Story: Bryson DeChambeau Compares PGA Tour to a Pizza Shop in Hilarious Attempt to Justify His Decisions

The PGA Tour players believed DeChambeau was at fault for receiving such hatred from fans. However, the players, especially McIlroy, thought that he didn’t deserve such harsh criticisms and backed him up for being different.