Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau played out a major championship battle for the ages at last year’s US Open, and the PGA Tour star would like the opportunity to take on the LIV golfer more often
Rory McIlroy has admitted he would like the opportunity to take on Bryson DeChambeau more often amid the ongoing split between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf.
McIlroy infamously lost out to DeChambeau at last year’s US Open, after the American capitalised on a number of mistakes from the Northern Irishman down the stretch. It proved to be one of the great major championship finishes, with two of the most in-form players on the planet gunning for the title.
Following DeChambeau’s switch to the LIV setup in the summer of 2022, McIlroy now only competes alongside the US Open champion four times a year at the majors.
This comes after the PGA Tour opted to ban any player competing in events on the Saudi-backed circuit, including DeChambeau. McIlroy had previously been as critical as anyone towards LIV and the players who opted to join, but the PGA Tour man has softened his stance over the past year.
So much so, the 35-year-old would like to go up against DeChambeau more frequently. Speaking about his US Open heartbreak in season three of Netflix’s Full Swing, he said: “Bryson is exactly what the game of golf needs right now.”
“I would certainly like the opportunity to play against him a little more often. He has made the game of golf more exciting this year.” Despite the praise, DeChambeau did of course pip McIlroy to the US Open crown, ensuring his wait for a fifth major championship entered a fifth year.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the 2011 champion, however McIlroy was open and honest when discussing the week at Pinehurst with Netflix. “As crushing as a defeat that I have had, it was probably the toughest finish to a tournament I’ve ever had,” claimed McIlroy
“I think missing the putt on 16, which I hadn’t done all week, I feel like that putt sort of let Bryson back into the tournament.” The Northern Irishman famously made a sharp exit from the Pinehurst property on the back of his loss, as he car pulled away from the car park within minutes of DeChambeau’s final putt dropping.
Opening up on his reason for making a quick dash in the aftermath of his loss, McIlroy added: “I didn’t want to speak to anyone, didn’t want to see anyone. I just wanted to get on the plane and go home.” He continued: “I did everyone a favour by getting out of there.”
Whilst McIlroy featured heavily in the Netflix docuseries, there is no direct input from DeChambeau. Confirming the US Open champion’s decision to turn down an interview, Full Swing executive producer Chad Mumm confirmed to Mirror Sport: “So Bryson unfortunately declined to officially participate in the show… I think we did a really good effort of telling his story without his direct point of view.”
