Rory McIlroy Details Tense 2025 Masters Moment with Bryson DeChambeau: ‘I Was Just Going to Stand Firm’

Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau Credit: David Cannon/Getty; Han Myung-Gu/Getty NEED TO KNOW Rory McIlroy is speaking out about an interaction he had with a fellow golfer at The Masters in 2025 McIlroy, who went on to win the tournament, was paired with Bryson DeChambeau in the final round The two seemingly argued about who should putt first on the 9th hole Rory McIlroy is giving more context to his controversial interaction with Bryson Dechambeau at The Masters in 2025. The two rivals, who were paired together during the final round of the major last April, had a heated back-and-forth on the 9th green— and McIlroy says their disagreement helped fuel him to go on to win and finally clinch the career Grand Slam. “I thought it very clearly was my putt,” McIlroy, 36, says in a new documentary Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait , while discussing how the two players both had similar length birdie putts.

“I thought his putt was slightly closer to mine. We sort of look at each other and I’m like, ‘I think it’s me to go. ’ And he’s like ‘I think it’s me to go.

’ ” Rory McIlroy Credit: David Cannon/Getty McIlroy continues, “It’s very gamesmanship-y, match play thing. Really, both of us want to putt first because if you can hole that before your opponent it puts pressure on them. He goes, ‘Why don’t we just throw a tee up for it to see who goes first.

’ And I’m like no, this is the final round of the Masters. This isn’t some like game on a Tuesday afternoon somewhere. I’m like, no.