Questions are once again being asked about the relationship between Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau after comments made by the latter on Monday.
They were grouped together for the final round at Augusta National but it was DeChambeau who fell apart and McIlroy who held his nerve to clinch his maiden Masters jacket in a playoff with Justin Rose.
The two have an intriguing recent history on and off the course.
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It was McIlroy who capitulated at the end of the US Open last year to hand DeChambeau the trophy on a platter.
The Northern Irishman controversially fled the venue without even congratulating the champion on his victory – an act that DeChambeau publicly brushed aside but would have no doubt left a sour taste.
Bryson DeChambeau congratulates Rory McIlroy on his Masters win, Getty
A clip was posted across social media during the Masters at the weekend which showed the pair on the driving range between rounds.
The video shows McIlroy telling bystanders, “I’d like to go up against Bryson (in the fourth round) to get back for what he did to me at the US Open”, to which DeChambeau – standing only a couple of metres away – replied, “to be fair you kind of did it to yourself”, which drew laughter from all including McIlroy.
In an interview posted across social media on Monday following McIlroy’s breakthrough Masters victory, DeChambeau revealed his opponent barely spoke to him all day.
“No idea (how he feels), (he) didn’t talk to me once all day,” DeChambeau said in the short video that has been widely distributed.
Asked if he tried to speak to McIlroy, DeChambeau said, “He wouldn’t talk to me”.
Many pundits were quick to circulate the nine-second clip and suggest the relationship between the two golf stars is rocky, if not non-existent.
But the video appears to take the comments out of context somewhat.
The full DeChambeau interview was much more friendly towards McIlroy.
The LIV Golf big-hitter was asked specifically about when McIlroy double bogeyed the 13th after finding water.
“I wanted to cry for him,” DeChambeau said.
Rory McIlroy watches Bryson DeChambeau on the sixth hole. AP
“I can’t believe he went for it… there were times where it looked like he had full control and at times where it’s like, what’s going on?
“Kind of looked like one of my rounds, actually.”
It was then that DeChambeau was asked how McIlroy reacted to that moment.
“Didn’t talk to me once all day… he was just, like… being focused, I guess,” he said.
Publicly the pair have maintained they are fine with one another, although others seem intent on driving a wedge between them.
Irish legend Padraig Harrington gave DeChambeau a clip when speaking to Irish Independent Sport on Monday.
“Could you imagine going out on a football pitch and saying the guy marking me wasn’t talking, or wasn’t very nice to me, you know?” Harrington said.
“I didn’t say a word to Sergio Garcia (during a tournament), because it suited me to talk, but I ain’t trying to relax to the other guy.”
McIlroy had previously been outspoken in his dislike of players ditching the PGA Tour to sign lucrative deals with LIV. The Irishman has come around in recent months and no longer speaks negatively about LIV or its players.
DeChambeau was once considered a PGA Tour villain and got many rivals offside, but has reimagined himself in recent times and is now one of the more popular players around the world.
