FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — If there is a brewing rivalry between Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, then the Ryder Cup could be a perfect setting for another dramatic duel.
While both star golfers downplayed any animosity between them, DeChambeau and McIlroy also acknowledged that being matched up against each other this week at Bethpage Black would be welcomed.
“Would I love to go up against him? Yeah. It would be a lot of fun,” DeChambeau said Thursday. “Is it going to happen? It’s not likely. I mean, maybe once. You never know.”
“If I come up against Bryson at some point, I think that’s great,” McIlroy said. “I think that’s wonderful for the championship and wonderful for us, as well, in some ways.”
DeChambeau, when asked earlier this year about potentially facing McIlroy in the Ryder Cup after the two were paired in the final round of the Masters Tournament, said that he intended to “chirp in [McIlroy’s] ear” at Bethpage.
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McIlroy responded to those comments last month during an interview with the Guardian.
“I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people,” McIlroy told the Guardian. “That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others.”
When asked about DeChambeau on Thursday, McIlroy joked that he had promised European captain Luke Donald that he would talk only about the European team.
“It’s so easy to play into narratives this week and to get swept up in this whole rivalries and Ryder Cup and whatever it is,” McIlroy said. “All I want to do is go and try and put blue points on the board. I don’t care who it’s against.”
As DeChambeau pointed out, whether it’s in foursomes, four-balls or Sunday singles, there’s no guarantee that the two will face off given the fact that captains select their teams and order ahead of knowing the opponent’s choices.
“I don’t know if there’s planning behind the scenes or whatnot,” DeChambeau said with a smile.
Even if they don’t face off against one another, the fact that DeChambeau and McIlroy are on opposite sides this week is emblematic of the kind of relationship they have had during the sport’s biggest events as of late.
Aside from Scheffler, no two players have performed better in major championships over the past two years than DeChambeau and McIlroy. In the process, their paths haven’t just crossed; they have met each other head-on.
The two finished first and second in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where McIlroy’s missed short putts on two of the last three holes and DeChambeau’s miracle bunker shot on 18 gave the LIV Golf star his second major victory.
This year at the Masters, both played in Sunday’s final group. And as McIlroy emerged with the green jacket and the career Grand Slam, DeChambeau was quick to point out that McIlroy did not talk to him the entire round. McIlroy responded that he didn’t know what DeChambeau expected.
On Monday, DeChambeau was asked by Golf Channel if he had a response to McIlroy’s recent comments to the Guardian.
“Whatever Rory says and whatnot is great. He didn’t mean anything by it,” DeChambeau said. “I’m excited. I hope we can have some good banter back and forth and if not, and he wants to do what he’s doing, great, no problem. Crowd’s going to be on our side.”
McIlroy, who is playing in his eighth Ryder Cup, has dealt with an away crowd several times and said he is prepared to manage an environment he doesn’t typically have to deal with.
“I’m very lucky, I get a lot of support pretty much everywhere I go when I play golf, and it’s going to feel a little different for me this week,” McIlroy said. “But that’s to be expected. … I feel at times in the Ryder Cup, I have engaged too much with that, too much with the crowd.
“But then there’s times where I haven’t engaged enough. So it’s really just trying to find the balance of using that energy from the crowd to fuel your performance.”
With competition starting Friday, the crowds on hand at Bethpage so far this week have been rallying around the U.S. team and specifically DeChambeau, who has given them plenty to cheer about.
“I think rivalries are good for the game of golf,” DeChambeau said. “And albeit I have the ultimate respect for Rory as a player. It’s going to be fun to go up against him this week.”
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