Ryder Cup week hasn’t begun yet, but the heat is already rising for the highly-anticipated battle at Bethpage Black. Two of the Ryder Cup’s biggest stars — Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau — are trading blows ahead of the event.
McIlroy, the European team veteran, was the latest to get in on the act. In a new Guardian interview conducted in August at East Lake, McIlroy hit back at American star DeChambeau’s plan to “chirp in the ear” of the reigning Masters champ at Bethpage.
Here’s what you need to know.
Rory dismisses Bryson’s Ryder Cup plan to ‘chirp’ him
Amid the interview, Murray brought up DeChambeau’s recent comments. At the “Happy Gilmore 2” premiere in New York City this July, People asked DeChambeau about McIlroy and the Ryder Cup.
His response could be considered one of the first shots fired of what is expected to be a tense Ryder Cup.
“I’ll be chirping in [McIlroy’s] ear this time. Now, if we go up against each other, I mean, you can be sure of it,” DeChambeau said.
When Murray asked McIlroy what he thought of DeChambeau’s plan for him at Bethpage, McIlroy dismissed it with his own jab at the two-time U.S. Open champion.
“I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people. That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others,” McIlroy told the Guardian.
The two players’ existing rivalry likely influenced the tone of their comments. Off the course, McIlroy and DeChambeau have been on opposite ends of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf feud.
On the course, DeChambeau stole the 2024 U.S. Open from McIlroy’s grasp, and McIlroy returned the favor this April at Augusta with his historic Masters victory. Bryson played with Rory in the final round and finished T5. After the tournament, DeChambeau claimed McIlroy “didn’t talk to me all day.”
But their Ryder Cup histories have barely intersected. DeChambeau has played in two Ryder Cups, in 2018 and 2021. Though McIlroy also played in both of those events, they have never faced each other in a match.
At the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, DeChambeau didn’t make the U.S. team.
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McIlroy: It’s ‘inevitable’ Ryder Cup fans will ‘get to us’
There has been much hand-wringing recently about how the New York fans will behave during the three days of Ryder Cup play at Bethpage Black.
While no one knows what will happen, both the American and European players seem to agree that it will be a loud, hostile environment for the away team. Add to that the fact that the last Ryder Cup featured a near-brawl between the players, and you have the makings of a volatile golf event.
In his Guardian interview, McIlroy revealed he thinks it’s “inevitable” that “something will happen” at this year’s Ryder Cup.
“I think it’s inevitable something is going to happen in New York. It might not involve me but it is inevitable that something will happen, whether like in Rome last time or something else,” McIlroy said.
He continued: “I just think when you go into that environment and you are there for five or six days and the crowd are on you for eight hours, so many days in a row… it is inevitable it will get to someone or get to us as a group at some point. We are just going to have to do a really good job of managing that, having each other’s backs and protecting each other.”
But McIlroy also sounded confident of his team’s chances of spoiling DeChambeau and the U.S. team’s party next week by winning an away Ryder Cup. That confidence comes from the “continuity” he sees on the European team from their victorious 2023 squad.
“If I compare it to the last two away Ryder Cups that I have played, I would say we are in a way better spot,” McIlroy said. “I still believe we are the underdogs but I feel more confident than I was in 2016 and 2021 that we can pull it off.”
The Ryder Cup action begins next Friday, September 26, at the Black Course on Long Island.
; "'Only way he gets attention': Rory McIlroy jabs Bryson DeChambeau over Ryder Cup comments 1")
