Rory McIlroy Could Hardly Answer DeChambeau Question Any Better

The Sky Sports panel could spot the switch in how Rory McIlroy spoke when he was asked about Bryson DeChambeau.

“A.I could not have scripted that putt, and that finish, any better,” said Nick Faldo as DeChambeau sank a monster birdie putt. “It’s almost too perfect.”

The American, who beat McIlroy to last year’s US Open title, made a late birdie blitz to go from -7 to -10. He is paired with McIlroy (-12) for Sunday’s final round, and was already getting the fans at Augusta National pumped up.

While DeChambeau is enjoying his role as ruckus-maker and crowd-pleaser, with wild celebrations and plenty of patron fist-bumps and high fives, McIlroy is letting his golf do the thrilling. Were it not for his late wobble, on Thursday, the four-time major winner could be a mere dot on the horizon.

As it is, he sits just two shots ahead of DeChambeau, with Corey Conners another two strokes behind. Given that DeChambeau wrested the US Open trophy from his grip, last summer, McIlroy was asked by Sky Sports about fate pairing them together for a Sunday duel. He could not have answered it better:

I’m not going to shy away from it. Situations like tomorrow are the reason I get up and work hard, practice and try to do all the right things. If I didn’t want this moment, I wouldn’t be doing those things. But this is what I want to do. These are the pairings I want to be in, and I’m excited for that.”

Bryson DeChambeau on his ‘match’ with Rory McIlroy

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Interestingly, in his chat with Sky Sports, Bryson DeChambeau described his final day pairing with Rory McIlroy as a “match”. In his mind, perhaps, he will win the green jacket if he can out-do McIlroy. Given that Conners is -8 and another clutch of players are -6 and -5, it is not a bad theory.

In his post-round press conference, DeChambeau was asked about the challenge of trying to chase down a clearly in-form McIlroy.

“Yeah, I think it’s fun,” he said, “feeling like you have to hit every single shot to the best of your ability, and you can’t let off the gas pedal. You just have to focus and play the best… absolute best golf you possibly can.

When you’re leading, it’s a little different. I’ve had those times, as well. You attack that a little differently. But for me, I’ll be chasing tomorrow. It will be a fun test.”

“It will be the grandest stage that we’ve had in a long time, and I’m excited for it,” DeChambeau added.

“We both want to win really, really badly, and it’s — you know, shoot, there’s a lot of great players behind us, too. Got to be mindful of that and focus on — it’s about who can control themselves and who can execute the golf shots the best. It’s going to be an electric atmosphere.”

While McIlroy said he would try to relax by watching an episode of Bridgerton and avoiding his phone, DeChambeau had plans to get a bite to eat, hit the range and watch Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.

Rory McIlroy Could Hardly Answer DeChambeau Question Any Better

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