“Didn’t talk to me once all day,” said Bryson DeChambeau, speaking about his playing partner, Rory McIlroy’s behavior at the 2025 Masters. But McIlroy now revealed they did interact during the final round, but it wasn’t a palatable one for DeChambeau. On the 9th hole during the final round, both had a rather spicy exchange regarding who was going to putt first.

Reflecting on what led to the dramatic scenario, McIlroy narrated, “I thought it very clearly was my putt. I thought his ball was slightly closer than mine. We sort of look at each other and he’s like, I’m like, well, I think it’s me to go. And he’s like, well, I think it’s me to go. It’s a very gamesmanship-y match play thing. Really, both of us want to putt first. Because if you can hold that putt before your opponent puts pressure on them.”

DeChambeau offered a solution that McIlroy found a bit preposterous: throw a tee and decide who would go first. McIlroy, who was the final round leader, scoffed at the idea.

“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.”

What once looked like simple silence between the two now appears rooted in a subtle yet telling exchange under pressure. While neither of them was willing to concede even the smallest advantage, the moment turned into a battle of composure rather than conversation. And despite all the fine margins, McIlroy made sure to chase history in that crucial situation.

“I wasn’t going to wilt in that situation. I was just going to stand firm. So I said, there’s a ref, right? Like, why don’t we get him up to come and measure? And he said, no, no, it’s fine. You can go anyway. I don’t care. And I just felt like that was a really big moment! I was proud of myself for holding my ground,” added McIlroy.

It was natural for McIlroy to fight for his spot. He wanted to go first and drain the birdie to carry his momentum. Remember, the Ulsterman started the day with a double bogey and then birdied the 3rd and 4th. Meanwhile, Justin Rose was snapping at his heels after draining four birdies on the front nine against two bogeys. So, Rory McIlroy wanted to gain an advantage.

Bryson had his reasons as well. Despite starting on the final pairing alongside McIlroy, whom he defeated at the 2024 U.S. Open, DeChambeau had back-to-back bogeys on the 3rd and 4th to fall behind the Ulsterman. He was looking for a birdie of his own on the 9th to remain in contention. But only one of them walked away with a circle on their scorecard.

McIlroy went on to birdie the 9th en route to a final round 1-over 73. He would go on to win the Masters and complete a career grand slam by defeating Justin Rose in the playoff. But this short-but-intense moment shows that Rory McIlroy wasn’t ready to leave an inch to don the Green Jacket.

Bryson DeChambeau was pushed down to the 5th position alongside Sungjae Im. After the round, the Crushers GC captain spoke to the media and sounded a bit miffed.

Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy’s long-running Masters discord

McIlroy had a tough time beating Bryson DeChambeau at the 2024 U.S Open. However, when the duo faced off again in 2025 at Augusta, the story turned out to be quite different. Despite being one of the favorites to win the Masters, DeChambeau could not get past the 36-year-old. 

It was expected that the battle between two behemoths would spark some fire inside the ropes as well. That wasn’t the case, even though Bryson’s comment afterward triggered a clapback from the Ulsterman.

The five-time major champion, when quizzed about DeChambeau’s comments, said, “I don’t know what he was expecting, like, we were trying to win the Masters, I’m not going to try and be his best mate out there.”

Later on, McIlroy said it wasn’t anything against DeChambeau, even though both play for two leagues that have been at loggerheads against each other since 2022. Now the recent clip from the upcoming Rory McIlroy documentary adds another dimension to it.