Bryson DeChambeau is a content machine and knows what clicks.
He also wears his heart on his sleeve and is not afraid to say whatever comes to mind, especially when the cameras are rolling.
Look no further than Monday’s practice round at Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas, the ultra-exclusive course that will host Tuesday’s Crypto.com Showdown. In this event, two of the biggest names in LIV Golf—DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka—will square off against two PGA Tour stalwarts, Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. The last time McIlroy and DeChambeau were in the same locale was at the U.S. Open in June, when DeChambeau bested McIlroy by a stroke in dramatic fashion.
McIlroy, of course, missed two crucial par putts from inside five feet on the 16th and 18th holes, helping DeChambeau win his second U.S. Open title in four years. Meanwhile, McIlroy’s 10-year major championship drought remained intact.
Knowing full well what went down, McIlroy, while on the range on Monday, expressed why he wants to win The Showdown so badly.
“I’d like to get him back for what he did to me at the U.S. Open,” McIlroy uttered.
That led DeChambeau to respond with an all-time diss:
“To be fair, you kinda did it to yourself,” DeChambeau said.
Those in attendance gasped and laughed in disbelief as the mark also left McIlroy speechless.
After a few seconds of murmurs and laughs, all McIlroy could muster was, “I don’t really know where to go from there.” And who could blame him? He suffered one of the most heartbreaking finishes in U.S. Open history and unfortunately had to relive that horrifying finish on Monday.
But on the flip side, maybe this slight lights a fire under McIlroy, giving him even more motivation to pull off the win Tuesday night.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
