AUGUSTA, Ga. — First came Rory McIlroy. Then Bryson DeChambeau.
Not to the top of the leaderboard at the Masters — where both players rest after surging into contention on Friday afternoon at Augusta National — but to the driving range on Thursday evening, minutes after a bitter opening round.
Thursday at the Masters had not been kind to either man. McIlroy zoomed up the leaderboard with a cool, collected first 14 holes, then dropped a pair of double bogeys in the final four holes for a demoralizing 72. DeChambeau responded by playing Thursday with his hair on fire, making numbers other than par on 11 of his 18 holes. Now, against the glow of the late-afternoon sun, both men were searching — and they were going about it very differently.
McIlroy disappeared from the driving range almost as quickly as he arrived, following the sun into the parking lot and away from Augusta National, eager to forget the day that was. DeChambeau, however, set up shop in near-darkness and continued until the range lights turned on, banging ball after ball into the oblivion.
Differences pop against the starchy green backdrop of Masters week, and on Thursday and Friday at Augusta National, no difference was more significant than the one shared by golf’s two preeminent stars: McIlroy and DeChambeau.
Just like last June’s heart-stopping U.S. Open, the two golfers played in direct succession, and just like last June, it was clear to even the least-informed observer that these two men have become the torch-bearers for their sport. (With Scottie Scheffler lurking not far behind.) But beyond that first bit of shared altitude, no two players in professional golf are more diametrically opposed than McIlroy and DeChambeau.
Rory is an artist, Bryson is a scientist; Rory is an empath, Bryson is a showman; Rory is a traditionalist, Bryson is a maverick; Rory detests YouTube golf, Bryson is YouTube golf.
The crowds were loud and supportive of both players, but perhaps the best way to understand their differences was in the context of their cheers. McIlroy’s adulation was the quintessential Masters soundtrack: his best moments treated as a sign of eminent brilliance and his worst like an unfortunate mistake, with no shortage of reverential applause in the silences between. DeChambeau’s, though, bordered on the kind of treatment one might expect from a professional wrestler.
“We breakin’ 50 today Bryson?!” One man yelled, a reference to DeChambeau’s popular YouTube series.
“Did you see his last video?” another asked quietly.
On a Thursday and Friday at the Masters when crowds churned together like waves against the shore, these differences proved instructive not just of the players McIlroy and DeChambeau are, but also where they’re headed.
DeChambeau might win the Masters, but if he does, it will be because of moments like the 9th hole on Friday, when he pulled the ripcord a little too hard on a wedge approach, failing to account for the backspin that would will his ball straight off the front of the green. When he got up-and-down for 4 anyway, Bryson practically exploded, delivering a yell and three short fist-pumps before disappearing into the rest of his round.
In the flow of that moment, DeChambeau revealed his inner self. Quiet, intense, exacting, relentless. These are the traits that make a champion in the way his coach, Dana Dahlquist, predicted on Thursday evening.
“He’ll win,” Dahlquist said. “By a bunch.”
McIlroy might win the Masters, but if he does, it will be because of moments like the 14th hole on Friday, when he escaped from pinestraw jail into an impossibly small window over the trees and onto the green. When he got up-and-down for 4 anyway, Rory hardly reacted, tapping in for his par and continuing his slight trot up the hill to the 15th tee box.
In the flow of that moment, McIlroy revealed himself, too. Daring, emotional, creative, courageous. These are the traits that have made Masters champions for most of the tournament’s history, leading everyone from Tiger Woods to all three members of Thursday morning’s ceremonial tee shots to predict a Rory victory.
“Well, ditto,” Jack Nicklaus said Thursday. “I think it’s about time that Rory won.”
Two opposed strategies. Two opposed individuals. And yet through two days at Augusta National, their similarities are what’s most striking. Both men have struggled at this golf course historically, battling against the weight of history and, more accurately, their expectations. Both men have been vexed by Augusta National’s unwillingness to bend to their will. And now, on Friday afternoon, even their scores are similar: McIlroy, 6 under, and DeChambeau, 7 under.
They climbed up the 18th fairway separated by a little more than 10 minutes on Friday afternoon, each wearing similar strides and receiving similar ovations. When they spoke to the press a few minutes later, a glimmer of hope remained in both sets of eyes.
The only difference that remained, it turned out, was the most glaring of all.
Their dreams for Sunday evening.
