There’s no other way to put it—Augusta had everything this year. A long-awaited Grand Slam. A nerve-wracking playoff. And simmering tension between two of the game’s biggest stars that finally spilled over in front of the world. When Rory McIlroy rolled in his birdie on the first playoff hole to complete the career Grand Slam, the roars echoed far beyond Georgia’s pine-covered fairways. It was the coronation of a champion 11 years in the making. But behind the thunderclap of history was an unmistakable silence—Rory McIlroy didn’t say a single word to Bryson DeChambeau during their entire final round together. The silence was loud, and it was bound to be noticed.
“They’re not buddies. At all,” declared former golfer turned commentator and golf analyst, Brandel Chamblee, on The Bret Boone Podcast. In fact, Chamblee didn’t hold back when asked by Bret Boone about what McIlroy might’ve been thinking the night before his legendary win.
Chamblee called their Masters showdown a clear “rematch” of a once-crushing finish, loaded with personal stakes and unfinished business. “A lot going on there. You know, one—it’s a rematch from Pinehurst, although they weren’t paired together at Pinehurst. But it’s definitely a rematch. I’m not going to say ‘animosity’—but there is palpable dislike,” he said, referencing the emotional backdrop of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where Bryson DeChambeau edged out Rory McIlroy by a single shot after McIlroy collapsed late, missing a short par putt on 18. Chamblee then also shed some light on the PGA-LIV drama and why this “palpable dislike” could be.
Hero Dubai Desert Classic Rory McIlroy NIR on the 13th tee during the final round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Emirates Golf Club, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 19/01/2025 Picture: Golffile Fran Caffrey All photo usage must carry mandatory copyright credit Golffile Fran Caffrey Copyright: xFranxCaffreyx *EDI*
“You can’t forget that Bryson went to LIV. And LIV sued the PGA Tour. The players on LIV sought to destroy the PGA Tour… they would love it if the PGA Tour were destroyed and folded. They would love it. They would pump their chest and go, ‘Look what we did—we’re the better tour.’ They would, in a minute, do that. And Bryson is kind of Phil’s guy. You know, they’re kind of two peas in a pod.” DeChambeau’s move to LIV seems to have only intensified the rift, as McIlroy is one of the PGA Tour’s loudest and proudest defenders.
Chamblee laid it out in no uncertain terms—this wasn’t just two elite golfers going toe-to-toe on Sunday. It was a cold war playing out in real time. “Rory and Bryson couldn’t be more opposite,” he said. “Rory is sincere, and congenial, and graceful. And Bryson is… you know… he’s kind of mercurial. He’s got a lot of Phil Mickelson in him.” Even after Bryson’s public image makeover, Chamblee went on to reveal that the locker room hasn’t bought it. “So, I know Bryson is perceived as having this makeover—he’s changed his swing, he’s changed his body, he’s changed his public perception. But not his peer perception. They don’t look at him like that. They don’t believe it.”
This skepticism played out in full view on Masters Sunday. As DeChambeau and McIlroy were locked in what could’ve been an instant classic, something unusual caught the attention of fans: Rory was dead-set on not engaging at all.
McIlroy’s strategic silence
Turns out, it wasn’t personal. At least, not entirely. According to McIlroy’s longtime sports psychologist Bob Rotella, the silent treatment was a key part of a tightly executed mental strategy.
“That didn’t have anything to do with Bryson. That was just the game plan all week—we wanted to get lost in it,” Rotella told the BBC. “We didn’t want to pay attention to what anyone else was scoring, or shooting, or swinging. We just wanted Rory to play his game.” Undoubtedly an incredible game plan that worked! But how did DeChambeau feel about this?
Bryson DeChambeau says Rory McIlroy didn’t say a word to him all day. pic.twitter.com/z2vmJqHjpc
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 14, 2025
DeChambeau—who once snatched the U.S. Open away from McIlroy by a single shot—wasn’t shy post-round. The LIV star was asked whether he and Rory had exchanged words during their final-round pairing. “No idea. Didn’t talk to me once all day,” he said bluntly. When pressed on whether he tried to talk to Rory? “He wouldn’t talk to me.”
DeChambeau later admitted he sympathized with McIlroy during the round, saying: “I wanted to cry for him… I mean, as a professional, you just know to hit it in the middle of the green, and I can’t believe he went for it… Kind of looked like one of my rounds, actually.” But at the end of the day, though, its whatever works best. McIlroy’s silence spoke volumes, and so did his green jacket.
The post Brandel Chamblee’s 4-Word Confession Reveals Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau’s Unstable Relationship appeared first on EssentiallySports.
