Rory McIlroy admitted he had no comeback after Bryson DeChambeau delivered a few harsh words over his US Open collapse.
Now, the pair meet again in similar circumstances on Masters Sunday, with McIlroy desperate for history not to repeat itself.
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McIlroy was left distraught by a shambolic ending to his US Open campaignCredit: Getty
Last summer, the Northern Irishman threw away a huge lead over DeChambeau with three dropped shots on the closing four holes to blow a Major he seemed destined to win.
Less than a year later, McIlroy will take a two-shot lead into the final round after a record-setting Saturday saw him carding a six-under 66.
The world number two is partnered with DeChambeau for Masters Sunday, and his rival certainly has the trash-talk down to a tee.
It has been ten years since McIlroy claimed a success in one of the Majors, and at Pinehurst, it looked as if that run was going to end.
Leading by two shots with five holes to play, it seemed as if he would end that long wait without a Major title.
However, it wasn’t to be, and ahead of The Showdown in December, between McIlroy, DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka and Scottie Scheffler, the American made a public dig at McIlroy, although it was all said in jest.
LIV Golf published a video of the pair practicing at the Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas.
In that clip, McIlroy says: “I’d like to go up against Bryson and get him back for what he did to me at the US Open.”
DeChambeau responded by saying: “To be fair, you kind of did that to yourself.”
McIlroy didn’t say anything for a while until he eventually responded with: “I don’t really know where to go from there.”
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McIlroy is two-shots clear at the top of the leaderboardCredit: Getty
Throughout the whole thing, the duo can be seen laughing, and it’s clearly all a joke that McIlroy takes very well, given he’s the target of the gag.
It’s yet to be seen whether relations will be as jovial at Augusta, with the two players teeing off at 7:10pm in their bid to claim a green jacket.
DeChambeau is seemingly relishing the chance to scupper McIlroy again, saying: “It’s always important in a major championship to try and be in the final group or close to the final group.
“It was definitely fun knowing that it was Rory and knowing that we could have a good matchup.”
McIlroy meanwhile refused to be drawn into playing mind games on Saturday when asked about his plans for the evening.
“I’ll have some dinner and try to make it through the second episode of the third season of Bridgerton,” he said.
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DeChambeau exploited McIlroy’s misfortune to claim the US OpenCredit: Getty
“I fell asleep during episode one [on Friday night].
“I’ll put the phone away. I’ve tried to stay clear of that this week. Try not to look at it until Sunday night.”
“And then [on Sunday] it’s just trying to fill that time between 07:00 and 10:30 before heading to the golf course.
“I watched a little bit of Premier League football [on Saturday], and then I watched Zootopia with [daughter] Poppy. It’s a very, very good movie if anyone’s interested.”