Bryson DeChambeau pulled no punches in a chat with Rory McIlroy as the pair potentially prepare to face off during the Crypto.com Showdown on Tuesday following their US Open clash in the summer
Bryson DeChambeau ruthlessly reminded Rory McIlroy of his US Open collapse ahead of a potential reunion.
The pair faced off at Pinehurst back in July. McIlroy looked to be the favourite to claim success after he had earned a two-shot lead heading into the final round.
But he let victory slip through his fingers after bogeying three out of the final four holes – a run that included him missing simple putts on both the 16th and the 18th. That left the door open to DeChambeau, who managed to secure victory with an eye-catching par recovery from a bunker on the last.
And the American made sure to remind his rival of his heart-wrenching defeat ahead of a potential reunion in the Crypto.com Showdown on Tuesday. Asked on the driving range who he would like to face, McIlroy only wanted one man.
He replied: “I’d like to go up against Bryson and try to get him back for what he did to me at the U.S. Open,” only for his rival to reply: “To be fair, you kind of did it to yourself.”
McIlroy was understandably gutted at the time not to secure victory. He left the course without talking to reporters but opened up on the collapse a few days after and claimed that there had been more disappointing defeats.
“It’s been a while since I’ve won a major. It hurt but I felt worse after some other losses,” McIlroy said. “I felt worse after Augusta in 2011 and I felt worse after St Andrews [in 2022]. It was up there with the tough losses but not the toughest.”
And he claimed that he had no regrets. He added: “It was a great day until it wasn’t. I think if anything, I’d say my pre-shot routine got a little bit long. I started to look at the target a few more times over the ball.
Rory McIlroy let US Open victory slip through his fingers in the summer ( Image: Getty Images)
“And then being very aware of what maybe some others were doing on the golf course and not really staying in my own little world for the whole 18 holes. But really, apart from that, there’s not a lot I would do differently.”
And while DeChambeau was happy to joke around this time, he claimed that he had sympathy for his rival at the time. He said: “For him to miss that putt [on 18], I would never wish that on anybody.
“I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game of golf because, to be honest, when he was climbing up the leaderboard, he was two ahead, I was like: ‘Uh-oh, uh-oh.’ But luckily things went my way.”
