Evin Priest
Augusta, Georgia: An in-form Bryson DeChambeau has thrown down the gauntlet to Masters champion Rory McIlroy as golf’s juiciest rivalry heats up for a potential encore at Augusta National.
Two-time US Open champion DeChambeau arrived at the first major of 2026 buoyed by back-to-back victories on the LIV Golf League in Singapore and South Africa.
The YouTube megastar is raring for another bid for a Masters green jacket after final group playing partner McIlroy got the better of him last year.
DeChambeau took the early lead on the final day at Augusta National following a McIlroy double bogey on the first hole, but DeChambeau faded in a tie for fifth – a second straight top 10 result at the Masters – while McIlroy won the green jacket.
After the round, DeChambeau said McIlroy “didn’t talk to me once all day”.
The 32-year-old DeChambeau was also on the end of a McIlroy sledge last week when an Amazon documentary on the Irishman’s Masters win featured the champion revealing an awkward disagreement the pair had about who was further away from the cup on the ninth green.
“Both of us want to putt first, because if you can hole that putt before your opponent, it puts pressure on them,” McIlroy said in the documentary.
“He [DeChambeau] goes, ‘So why don’t we just throw a tee up for it to see who goes first?’ I’m like, ‘No, this is the final round of the Masters, this isn’t some game on a Tuesday afternoon somewhere!’ I wasn’t going to wilt in that situation, I was going to stand firm.”
On Tuesday at Augusta National, DeChambeau was asked if his relationship with McIlroy could be described as a rivalry and whether he enjoyed it.
“Yeah, I mean, it’s great if we can continue to have a rivalry,” DeChambeau said. “I don’t see any problem with that. If anything, it kind of helps create more buzz around the game of golf.
“Do I respect him as an individual? 100 per cent. Do I want to beat him every time I see him? Absolutely. There’s no question about it.
“But I think that’s what’s so brilliant about the game of golf is that juxtaposition, having that sportsmanlike respect and then wanting to just absolutely beat the living you know what out of him.”
The 2025 Masters had continued their running battle from the 2024 US Open, when McIlroy missed two short putts in the closing holes at Pinehurst and DeChambeau stole his second US Open crown.
DeChambeau was quick to remind reporters he was keeping score.
“It’s one of those things like I got him at Pinehurst – he got me here, and I hope there’s more of those to come because it’s great for the game,” DeChambeau said.
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