Bryson DeChambeau makes 6-word defiant Masters statement before facing Rory McIlroy

Bryson DeChambeau revealed he wanted to send the message: "I'm not going to back down" before . The Ulsterman had led by four shots during the third round and had threatened to romp to victory and complete his career Grand Slam.

But the American responded by nailing three late birdies to cut the Ulsterman’s lead in half. And after rolling in a four-foot birdie putt on No.16, he stared down the crowd in celebration.

explained: “I always leaderboard watch. Certainly want to know where I stand for sure. Rory was kind of moving forward. He was at 12-under, and I was kind of chasing a bit. When I made that, I looked up and I said, kind of as a statement: ‘Like, you know what, I'm still here. I'm going to keep going. I'm not going to back down’.

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"Is there such a thing as overnight momentum? Yeah, for sure. I think there's a bit of it. Is it going to be the full reason why I play well or not my best tomorrow? No. But there is momentum."

And the two-time US Open champion, who beat McIlroy by a stroke to win at Pinehurst last June, predicted an “electric atmosphere”.

He said: “It will be the grandest stage that we've had in a long time, and I'm excited for it. We both want to win really, really badly. Shoot, there's a lot of great players behind us, too. Got to be mindful of that. It's about who can control themselves and who can execute the shots the best. It's going to be an electric atmosphere.”

DeChambeau led by three shots going into the final round at Pinehurst but this time he is going to have to chase from the first tee where he will start two shots behind McIlroy.

“I think it's fun, a feeling like you have to hit every single shot to the best of your ability, and you can't let off the gas pedal. You just have to focus and play the absolute best golf you possibly can. When you're leading, it's a little different. I've had those times, as well. You attack that a little differently. But for me, I'll be chasing tomorrow. It will be a fun test.”

Leader McIlroy said he would switch off his phone and watch another episode of Bridgerton before the final round. DeChambeau, who headed straight to the floodlight practice range after his press conference, said: "For me, it's going to be practicing a little bit before it gets dark. Eating. Looking at my phone. I don't have a problem with that.

"And just getting treatment on my body. Relaxing as much as possible. Watching a movie, probably, tonight. A fun movie. It will probably be a James Bond movie or something like that. That will be fun. I love James Bond movies. What era? Pierce Brosnan. Tomorrow morning, I'll probably go to bed late and get up around 10:00, 10:30 and see how the course is playing and go from there."