Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau share one of the biggest rivalries in the professional game.
While McIlroy has reached another level over the past 18 months or so, it was DeChambeau who forced the Northern Irishman into improving one specific part of his game.
McIlroy has won back-to-back Masters and now has 30 PGA Tour wins to his name, including six major championships.
Meanwhile,Bryson DeChambeau has been winning regularly on LIV Golf, and has two US Open wins to his name.
Rory McIlroy got the better of the American at The Masters in 2025 when they played together in the final group on Sunday.
DeChambeau admitted watching McIlroy complete the career Grand Slam in person taught him a real lesson.
McIlroy and DeChambeau were involved in a heated battle at The Masters 13 months ago, with the American seemingly upset that the Northern Irishman refused to speak to him during the final round.
Rory McIlroy admits Bryson DeChambeau forced him into changing his game
When speaking on the New Heights Podcast, McIlroy was asked how far he hits his driver now.
And when responding he opened up about how DeChambeau forced him into gaining more speed with his driver.
“Right now, I’d say I average, like, 325, 330, and I probably average, like, 320 in the air,“ the six-time major champion said.
“I’ve worked on it. I would say, like, pre-COVID, I was probably carrying the ball 305-ish.
“So I’m probably 15 yards longer in the air now.
“But to me, the big turning point was after COVID, when we all came back out to play, Bryson had put on like 40 pounds, and he was hitting the ball so far, and then he went to Wing Foot and he won the US Open playing in a way that I never thought could win a US Open.
“You know, completely just, he wasn’t caring about hitting fairways, but just hitting it as far as possible.
“And it just made me rethink a little bit, and I probably started to chase the distance a little too much.
“But then I sort of found a bit of a happy medium where, you know, I’ve done some good work in the gym and I’m certainly faster than I once was.
“I’ve reached a point where I can swing it with speed without having my swing deteriorate and getting into bad habits.“
DeChambeau unquestionably changed the course of the professional game in 2020 when he won the US Open at Winged Foot.
He hit driver on almost every single par four and par-five, and was cruising at a 195 mph ball speed.
The 32-year-old ended up winning by six strokes from Matt Wolff and from that moment onwards, distance and speed became a necessity at the highest level, rather than merely a luxury.
Rory McIlroy says he and Dustin Johnson changed the game in 2011
Before DeChambeau came along, McIlroy insists that he changed the game originally, alongside Dustin Johnson.
“The game has changed. Like, I would say, not to blow my own horn, but I’d say myself and Dustin Johnson back in like 2011, 2012, we sort of changed the game,“ he said.
“We sort of changed the way the game was played for a little bit because if you look before that, like Tiger had his success, there was a lot of conservative strategies, irons off tees, fairway woods off tees, and then when DJ and I came out, we just were like, aggressive, hit driver everywhere.
“And then I think Bryson almost took it to another level again.”
Golf is certainly a different game now, with distance and speed far more important than accuracy and strategy.
And it’s fair to say that Rory McIlroy was one of the leading pioneers behind that evolution.