Before the gallery’s boorish abuse of Rory McIlroy became one of the more unfortunate storylines of the 2025 Ryder Cup, McIlroy made headlines of his own when he called out his U.S. opponent, Bryson DeChambeau.
“I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people,” McIlroy told the Guardian. “That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others.”
McIlroy’s comments came from an interview that took place at the Tour Championship in August but were published for the first time in the days before the Ryder Cup began. They were also in response to a question about comments made by DeChambeau earlier this summer to People Magazine, in which DeChambeau said he would be “chirping in [McIlroy’s] ear” at the Ryder Cup.
On-site at Bethpage, DeChambeau acknowledged his rivalry with McIlroy but said his comments were made in sporting fun.
“Whatever Rory says and whatnot — granted, 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,” DeChambeau told Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis. “There’s a rivalry between every one of us golfers. Is it heightened with Rory? Sure. You can make it that way. But look, anytime we go out in the arena, we’re trying to be the best we can possibly be, and if it helps the game of golf out to then great, so be it.”
DeChambeau and McIlroy never faced each other over three days of match play, but their rivalry extends beyond the Ryder Cup. DeChambeau is one of LIV Golf’s biggest stars, while McIlroy has remained a staunch PGA Tour loyalist. DeChambeau also bested McIlroy at the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, and the two did not speak when they played together during the final round at the 2025 Masters, which McIlroy won to complete the career Grand Slam.
So it is perhaps no surprise that Europe’s Ryder Cup win on Sunday was a cathartic one for McIlroy, who powered through the brutal environment at Bethpage to go 3-1-1 in five matches for Europe. And during the team’s celebration, cameras captured McIlroy making a pointed statement.
Aided by teammate Matt Fitzpatrick — who was 5 up on DeChambeau in singles after seven holes before ultimately settling for a tie on the final hole — McIlroy carefully positioned a European flag to cover DeChambeau’s name.
While it appears that McIlroy holds the upper hand in his battle with DeChambeau for the moment, fans are already marking the calendar for the 46th edition of this epic biennial event: Sept. 13-19, 2027, at Adare Manor in Ireland. The Ryder Cup countdown starts now.
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