After Bryson DeChambeau pointedly revealed that Rory McIlroy didn’t speak a word to him during their final round at the Masters, a tense clip between the two has resurfaced on social media.
DeChambeau hit reverse as he went out in Sunday’s final group with McIlroy, initially overturning his rival’s two-shot lead before spluttering to -7 for the tournament and a tied fifth finish while McIlroy beat Justin Rose in a playoff to finally get his green jacket.
Speaking afterwards, the American was asked if knew how McIlroy was feeling after completing the Grand Slam, to which he said: ‘No idea. Didn’t talk to me once all day.’
He shrugged as he was then asked if he tired to initiate conversation, and added: ‘He wouldn’t talk to me. He was just like – just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.’
It prompted fans to dig out footage from last December in Las Vegas, where McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler faced DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka in ‘The Showdown’ – a LIV vs PGA event where the two traded digs on the driving range.
A mic’d up McIlroy said he’d like to face DeChambeau in the showdown to ‘try to get him back for what he did to me at the US Open.’ DeChambeau replied: ‘Well, to be fair, you kind of did it to yourself.’
Rory McIlroy finally got his green jacket on a stunning final day at the Masters on Sunday
Bryson DeChambeau said after his round that McIlroy didn’t speak him on the final day
The pair were referencing McIlroy’s horrifc collapse at Pinehurst in 2024, where he missed two short putts in the final three holes to win the tournament while some DeChambeau magic from the bunker on the 18th saw him capitalize for glory.
McIlroy’s coldness has already caused deabte in the aftermath of his Augusta triumph.
World No 35 Byeong Hun An, who finished Tied 21st on Sunday at the tournament, responded the clip from DeChambeau’s interview on X: ‘He seemed upset about this.
‘Not sure if some contexts cut out or something. But I’m not going to expect my competitor to talk to me or talk back.’
Daily Mail also reported that DeChambeau, 31, made a delayed arrival to the tee for the start of his round with McIlroy, 35, getting there around 10 minutes after his opponent. Perhaps that was why McIlroy kept his distance.
Neither McIlroy or DeChambeau have yet elaborated on the mood between them on an afternoon where their duel be remembered for eternity in golfing folklore.
But McIlroy’s triumph, where he becomes just the sixth man in the history of the game to win all four Majors, sets up a fascinating year for a game that has been at civil war in recent years amid the emergence of LIV, where DeChambeau now plies his trade.
In a month, they will be locking horns again at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, North Carolina, where McIlroy has won four times on the course already.
McIlroy shakes hands with DeChambeau on the 18th hole, moments before his playoff
The two will face off throughout a packed golfing calendar in 2025, including the Ryder Cup
The US Open is June 12-15 at Oakmont Country Club before the British Open will see McIlroy compete in his home country of Northern Ireland in his bid to lift the Claret Jug for a second time.
Then, of course, McIlroy and DeChambeau will face off in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage in New York in late September.
But for now, the weight of the world is finally off McIlroy’s shoulders. DeChambeau is back to the drawing board, licking his wounds.
