Rivalry Renewed? Brooks And Bryson To Square Off In ‘The Match’

The two major winners will face off in 'The Match' on November 26 in Vegas

After months of bickering, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau will take their rivalry to the golf course in the fifth iteration of ‘The Match’.

With the eyes of the golfing world upon them, the two will face off in a 12-hole head-to-head encounter at the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas on Friday November 26.

It will be the first one-on-one clash since the original idea came to fruition when Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson locked horns at Shadow Creek back in 2018, with ‘Lefty’ eventually prevailing at the fourth play-off hole.

The showdown will be Koepka’s first appearance in the contest, while his opponent featured in the most recent edition, partnering up with Aaron Rodgers to take down the team of Mickelson and Tom Brady.

• Bryson exceeds expectations at Long Drive World Championship

Both players will be mic’d up and Turner broadcasters Charles Barkley and Ernie Johnson are expected to be calling the action. 

While The Match has often flattered to deceive, at the very least, this year's protagonists should be hell-bent on prevailing over the other given their history.

The Brooks-Bryson rivalry goes all the way back to the early part of 2019 when Koepka accused DeChambeau of slow play, saying: “I don’t understand how it takes a minute and 20 seconds to hit a golf ball. It really drives me nuts”.

A truce was then called after a confrontation in August before things escalated again in January 2020 when Bryson mocked his rival’s physique after he appeared on the cover of an ESPN Body Issue.

The next major incident occurred at this year’s PGA Championship, with DeChambeau inadvertently interrupting a Golf Channel interview between Koepka and Todd Lewis. The four-time major winner made no attempt to hide his disdain, and the leaked footage immediately went viral on social media. 

• Brooks vs Bryson: The rivalry golf needs

While DeChambeau persisted that the whole thing was merely “banter” and that he was lapping it all up, fans took it upon themselves to start calling him “Brooksie” whenever he teed it up. Such 'heckling' eventually irked DeChambeau so much he had people ejected from tournaments.

That, of course, prompted a response from Koepka, who posted a video to social media offering free beers to spectators who had been forced off property.

But it all finally appeared to be put to one side for the Ryder Cup, as the pair helped Team USA reclaim the trophy in a record-breaking 19-9 triumph. They even shared an extremely forced and uncomfortable-looking cuddle at the winner's press conference.

However, this latest news should come as no surprise after DeChambeau hinted in the build-up to the biennial contest that "something fun" was in the pipeline for he and Brooksie.

How fun it will be remains to be seen, but may the best man win, I suppose.