By Eamon Doggett
Copyright irishmirror
Bryson DeChambeau has seemingly tried to pour cold water on his beef with Rory McIlroy ahead of the start of the Ryder Cup.
The pair have been close rivals in recent years, with DeChambeau capitalising on missed putts from McIlroy to win the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst.
McIlroy would get revenge at this year’s Masters, whereafter the American complained that the Down man did not speak to him for the whole round.
Seemingly referencing that incident, DeChambeau told People Magazine at the premiere of Happy Gilmore in July that he would be doing the talking at the Ryder Cup.
“I’ll be chirping in McIlroy’s ear this time,” DeChambeau said. “If we go up against each other, you can be sure of it.”
In a recent interview with the Guardian, McIlroy hit back at DeChambeau, claiming the American was looking for attention.
“I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people,” McIlroy said. “That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others.”
The back and forth continued on Monday when DeChambeau, after playing a practice round with his Ryder Cup teammates Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas and Cameron Young, was asked about the Masters champion’s latest comments.
“All I’m trying to do is inspire kids on YouTube,” DeChambeau said.
“And you know, we’ve got quite a big audience on YouTube, and I’m continuing to focus on that train of thought, and whatever Rory says and whatnot, I didn’t mean anything by it, other than I’m excited.
“I hope we can have some good banter back and forth. And if not, if he wants to do what he’s doing, great. No problem.
“Crowd’s gonna be on our side. We’re gonna have a fun time. But ultimately, you know, my job is to get a kid out there that’s looking at me hitting a golf ball and smiling. That’s the goal.”
While McIlroy was a staunch supporter of the PGA Tour during the emergence of LIV Golf, DeChambeau was part of the first wave of players to join the breakaway tour.
This will be DeChambeau’s third Ryder Cup but he has yet to face McIlroy in the biennial competition.
And former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley thinks the two-time US Open champion is a bit of a quandary for American captain Keegan Bradley.
McGinley told the Golf Channel: “Normally fans like the black sheep, no matter what the sport is; a guy who’s different and unique. So I have no doubt the fans will rally around him here.
“Will he play the first morning? You’d have to look at his game and say it’s probably not suited to foursomes. He’s a difficult personality to pair with for sure, and he’s also got a difficult game to pair with, because his iron play in particular has been really poor at the majors this year.
“His driving is spectacular. We know that. His short game is spectacular. We know that, but his iron play has been really poor, and generally it’s iron play you look for more than anything when you’re trying to pair.
“Having said that, he is a big name, he’s going to draw a huge noise from the crowd and his comments were about playing to his own audience on YouTube.
“He just said that that’s what that was about. And a lot of those YouTube fans are going to be here today or this week, so I would not be surprised (if he played on Friday morning).
“He’s not a perfect fit for foursomes, but I would not be surprised, because one of the keys that we’re expecting from Keegan is to play to the crowd and get that home crowd advantage as soon as possible. So obviously him in the team on the first morning would do that for him.
“In fairness, he’s excited for the week, he has been there for his teammates, travelling to Atlanta for dinner and travelling, though he wasn’t playing in the tournament, out in Napa.”