Rory McIlroy has revealed how he clashed with Bryson DeChambeau over a crucial putt in his final round on his way to winning the Masters last year.
In a new Amazon Prime documentary on his triumph at Augusta National, McIlroy finally sheds light on the tense incident on the ninth green that had intrigued the golfing world.
The Northern Irishman and the American, who were playing partners on the last day, each set up birdie attempts with their second shots. The pair stood over their putts but neither went to play their ball.
McIlroy says in the documentary that he was insistent his ball was further away than DeChambeau’s and should go first.
DeChambeau disagreed and McIlroy says they had a brief exchange on the green, where the big-hitting LIV Golf star suggested they ‘throw a tee up for it’ to decide who took the first shot.
‘And I’m like “no, this is the final round of the Masters, this isn’t some game on a Tuesday afternoon somewhere”,’ says McIlroy.
Rory McIlroy has opened up on his clash with Bryson DeChambeau at last year’s Masters
‘I wasn’t going to wilt in that situation. I was just going to stand firm.
‘So I said “there’s a ref right there, why don’t we get him up to come and measure?”
‘And he said “no it’s fine, you can go anyway. I don’t care”. And I just felt like that was a really big moment.
‘I was proud of myself for holding my ground.’
Speaking earlier in the documentary, Mcllroy said: ‘I thought it very clearly was my putt.
‘I thought his ball was slightly closer than mine. We sort of looked at each other and I’m like, well, “I think it’s me to go”. And he’s like, “well, I think it’s me to go”.
‘It was a very gamesmanship-y matchplay thing. Really, both of us want to putt first, because if you can hole your putt before your opponent has his turn, it puts pressure on them.’
McIlroy went first and sank his putt to move to 13 under par, while DeChambeau missed and was forced to settle for par.
While McIlroy went on to complete the Grand Slam after beating Justin Rose in a dramatic playoff, DeChambeau faded and finished in a tie for fifth at seven-under.
The exchange on the ninth throws into question claims from DeChambeau after his final round that McIlroy ‘didn’t talk to me once all day’.
DeChambeau said he was gifted no insight into McIlroy’s round as the Northern Irishman refused to speak to him.
The American (back) claimed that McIlroy (front) refused to talk to him throughout the round
‘No idea. [McIlroy] Didn’t talk to me once all day,’ the 31-year-old said when asked how McIlroy was feeling following his victory.
‘He wouldn’t talk to me,’ he doubled down when asked again if he attempted to initiate conversation with his opponent.
In response, McIlroy said: ‘I was not there to be his best friend. We were trying to win the Masters.’
The reaction prompted fans to dig out footage from December 2024 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 again on the final day of a major championship 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.’
The pair were referencing McIlroy’s horrific 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 capitalise for glory.
