Bryson DeChambeau is arriving at Augusta National with wins in his last two LIV Golf League starts and the kind of confidence that comes from having already gone close at The Masters. The two-time US Open champion has finished in the top six at Augusta the past two years, and now he is back with another chance to turn familiar pressure into a third major title.
DeChambeau helped give last year's final round its edge when he went out in the last group with Rory McIlroy, briefly led and then faded to a tie for fifth after a three-over 75. McIlroy won the tournament and completed the career Grand Slam, but DeChambeau said the matchup only strengthened what he sees as a sporting rivalry that should keep building. “It's great if we can continue to have a rivalry,” he said. “I don't see any problem with that.”
He added that a back-and-forth with McIlroy can help golf, not hurt it. “If anything, it kind of helps create more buzz around the game of golf,” he said, before making clear that the respect ends where the competition begins. “Do I respect him as an individual? 100 per cent. Do I want to beat him every time I see him? Absolutely, there's no question about it.” For DeChambeau, that edge is part of what makes the sport work. “I think that's what's so brilliant about the game of golf is that juxtaposition, having that sportsmanlike respect and then wanting to just absolutely beat the living you know what out of him,” he said.
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The final round at Augusta last year showed both sides of that equation. DeChambeau started with a par-birdie sequence after McIlroy double-bogeyed the opening hole, then slipped back with back-to-back bogeys and dropped three more shots across two holes in Amen Corner. He said afterward that the loss taught him plenty, calling it “a great learning lesson,” and saying that being in the last group with the lead or tied for it gave him perspective. “It's one of those things - like I got him at Pinehurst [No 2, 2024 US Open], he got me here [2025 Masters],” he said. “I hope there's more of those to come because it's great for the game.”
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That is why DeChambeau arrives at Augusta as more than just a past contender with recent form. He has been close before, he has won twice since, and he has already shown he can make McIlroy sweat on golf's biggest stages. The next test is whether Augusta again gives him a chance to turn rivalry into a result.
