Bryson DeChambeau has made a prediction concerning Rory McIlroy after the two battled over the US Open crown at Pinehurst on Sunday.
Smylie Kaufman correctly predicted that the US Open would come down to Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy, but few could have envisaged the drama which would unfold on the back nine.
DeChambeau began the day three shots clear of the chasing pack – which included McIlroy. But the Northern Irishman made the fastest start, birdieing the first hole to move within two.
DeChambeau was not at his ruthless best off the tee, having swapped his driver head on the range before the final round. And that helped McIlroy take a two-shot lead at one stage on the back nine.
Bryson DeChambeau makes Rory McIlroy prediction after US Open drama
But the 35-year-old would miss two short putts in the final three holes to present DeChambeau with the chance to win the tournament with a par on the last.
The 2020 champion was able to produce one of the shots of his life to set up the par which got the job done. Unsurprisingly, McIlroy was clearly crestfallen and swiftly left Pinehurst.
One of the key questions coming out of the US Open centres around whether McIlroy will indeed win another major having nearly gone a decade since his last.
But speaking in his press conference after winning the US Open, Bryson DeChambeau suggested that he expects McIlroy to get more than five.
“Rory is one of the best who has ever played and being able to fight against a great like that is pretty special,” he said.
“For him to miss that putt, I would never wish it on anybody. It just happened to play out that way. He will win multiple more major championships, there is no doubt. I think that fire in him is going to continue to grow and I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game of golf, because to be honest when he was climbing the leaderboard and was two ahead, I was like oh oh. But luckily things went my way today.”
Huge questions over where McIlroy goes from here
The fear for McIlroy will be that he could have hardly found himself in a better position to end that long wait for major championship victory at the weekend.
Over four rounds, there are always going to be twists and turns, so unless someone produces flawless golf from the very start, there are always going to be moments when the pressure is really on.
The pressure appeared to get to McIlroy on Sunday, and that pressure is only likely to increase should he find himself in a similar position in the future.
Should he win one more, it would be no surprise if several more did follow, as Bryson suggests. But getting that one is proving much more challenging than anyone could have imagined.
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