Rory gushes over Bryson's drives: 'That was unbelievable'

Rory McIlroy is ranked No. 1 in the world and possesses one of golf's best drives, but even he was blown away by the bombs Bryson DeChambeau was launching last week at Colonial.

McIlroy was paired with DeChambeau on Sunday, getting a front-row view of his power off the tee.

"Yeah, I mean, obviously at the start of the year, he came out and he was a bit bigger. You could see he was getting a bit of speed and stuff, and he was hitting it a long way," McIlroy said, according to Golf.com's Dylan Dethier. "But he hit a couple drives on Sunday that Harry (McIlroy's caddie) and I just looked at each other, and we're like, 'Holy shit, that was unbelievable.'"

DeChambeau is up to 240 pounds after adding 25 pounds of muscle during the break in an effort to gain distance off the tee, and it proved to be successful. He led the field in strokes gained: off-the-tee by averaging 340 yards with his driver, which propelled him to a T3 finish at 14-under.

"He hit one into the wind on 11. I hit a really good one and probably hit it like 315, 320. He must have flew my ball by 40 yards. He hit it like 370, 375 into the wind," McIlroy said. "It was crazy. It was nuts. It's unbelievable."

McIlroy, who's listed at 160 pounds, ranks second in driving distance this season behind DeChambeau. He also finished second in 2019 behind Cameron Champ, who Rory believes is still the longest driver on Tour.

"It seems with Cameron, it's a lot more - it's smoother speed. It's not quite as much of an effort as Bryson's putting into it. But he's getting there," McIlroy said.

DeChambeau's difference in physique - and swing effort - is noticeable from a year ago.

McIlroy and DeChambeau are both in the field this week at the RBC Heritage Classic; however, Harbour Town Golf Links rewards accuracy more than distance.