Scottie Scheffler owned 2024, but he wasn’t a factor in the most riveting finish of the golf season. That took place on Sunday at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where Bryson DeChambeau delivered arguably the shot of the year to claim a second major by one shot over Rory McIlroy.
On the flip side, McIlroy, unfortunately, will be most remembered this season for that heartbreaking loss. His reaction from the scorer’s area that day nearly topped our list of screenshots of the year as his winless drought in major championships reached a full decade and caused him to take a (brief) break from golf.
And if you think these guys have put that day in the past, well, think again. When we spoke to Bryson last week, he talked about the awkwardness of seeing Rory for the first time four months later. And ahead of this week’s The Showdown, in which Bryson and one-time rival Brooks Koepka will compete against Rory and Scottie Scheffler, things got even more uncomfortable. Check out this exchange from the driving range at Shadow Creek:
The trash talking already starting at Shadow Creek 😅#LIVGolf pic.twitter.com/zB0bM3gWCn
— LIV Golf (@livgolf_league) December 16, 2024
Um, hello, Las Vegas PD? We’d like to report a murder.
“I’d like to go up against Bryson and try to get him back for what he did to me at the U.S. Open,” McIlroy says in the clip. To which DeChambeau responds, “Well, to be fair, you kind of did it to yourself,” referring to Rory bogeying three of the final five holes to squander a two-shot lead.
Damn, that’s cold. And it seemed like everyone, including Bryson’s new bud and LIV partner this week Brooks Koepka, got a big kick out of it.
“Um, I don’t really know where to go from there,” McIlroy says later in the clip.
This ain’t your grandpa’s “silly season”! Coverage of The Showdown on Dec. 17 will start at 6 p.m. ET on TNT Sports and MAX.
Main Image: Ross Kinnaird