If ever there was a moment to accelerate peace talks between men’s golf’s warring factions it came on Sunday as Bryson DeChambeau jogged around the 18th green at Pinehurst letting fans touch the US Open trophy he had won minutes earlier in the most dramatic of fashions.

As Rory McIlroy sped away in a courtesy car after missing two short putts that would have ended his major drought and could now haunt him for the rest of his golfing days, DeChambeau looked every inch the new poster boy of golf.

Two years ago he was the archvillain of the game, one of the big-name players who not only joined the Saudi-backed LIV tour but then filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.

But this year he has re-emerged a new man, still with his booming drives and upright putting stance, but also with a refreshing and disarming charm about him in his relaxed interactions with the gallery.

Man of the people: Bryson DeChambeau lets fans touch the trophy after his dramatic win at the US Open at Pinehurst on Sunday (Picture: Frank Franklin II/AP)

A large percentage of golfers zone out the fans, particularly on a Sunday, but even as his battle with McIlroy raged at Pinehurst, he was fist-bumping them and laughing and joking with them.

He is exactly the type of figurehead golf needs right now to reattach itself to the public after a two-year long war. The only problem is, he is on the wrong side of it, or at least the side that no one gets to see.

Without a major TV deal, LIV golf events are tucked away on YouTube. This is only the third time the majority of golf fans have seen the 30-year-old Texan play this year and there may only be one more chance at the Open. DeChambeau is well aware of his rediscovered status as a star of the game and popularity figure among its young fans, which is why he is urging the two sides to come together at last.

There could be some good news on the horizon with an announcement expected on Tuesday that significant progress has been made in talks between Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) – which bankrolls LIV Golf – and the PGA Tour.

Bryson DeChambeau celebrates after winning the U.S. Open golf tournament at Pinehurst (AP Photo/Matt York)

Just minutes after filling the trophy with sand from the bunker where he played a wonderfully-judged bunker shot to save par on 18 and clinch his second US Open title, he said: “If I’m to be quite frank, I hope we can figure things out quickly. I hope this can bridge the gap between a divided game.

“All I want to do is entertain and do my best for the game of golf, execute and provide some awesome entertainment for the fans.

"From at least what I can tell, that’s what the fans want, and they deserve that. You can say what’s happened in the past, you know, you were part of the reason…. let bygones be bygones and go figure it out.

“Let’s figure out this amazing game that creates so much positivity (and get it) back to where it belongs.”

Heartbreak: Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after missing a putt on the 18th hole during the final round of the U.S. Open. Was that his best chance to win another major gone? (AP Photo/Matt York)

As for McIlroy, one wonders if he will ever win another major championship.

There have been near-misses before in his quest to end a major drought that goes back to 2014.

At the 150th Open at St Andrews he jointly held the 54-hole lead but was overtaken by Cameron Smith who shot a 64 as McIlroy played conservatively.

Then last year at the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, he trailed Wyndham Clark by one going into the final round but his putter stayed cold and he was unable to exert enough pressure on the inexperienced leader.

But this will hurt more than any other. McIlroy was two shots clear with five holes to play but after DeChambeau, playing in the group behind, birdied the par-five 13th to halve the deficit, McIlroy bogeyed three of the last four holes.

He missed a two-and-a-half footer on the 16th and then after rescuing a perilous situation from the native rough on the left of 18 with a chip to two feet, he struck his curving downward putt too tentatively and it lipped out.

After DeChambeau extricated himself from a worse situation on the 72nd hole to roll in a four-footer for par, sparking wild scenes, McIlroy could only turn away and slink to the exit of the scorer’s hut.

Minutes later he was seen being driven out of Pinehurst.

As Sir Nick Faldo put it in the Sky Sports commentary box: “That’s going to haunt Rory for the rest of his life, those two misses.”

DeChambeau expressed sympathy for his beaten rival. “For him to miss that putt (on 18), I would never wish that on anybody,” said the champion. “I think that fire in him is only going to continue to grow. He’s going to win more majors.

“I have nothing but respect for how he plays the game of golf because, to be honest, when he was climbing up the leaderboard, he was two ahead, I was like, Uh-oh, uh-oh. But luckily things went my way.”

How many more times can McIlroy put himself on the leaderboard on the Sunday of major?

And the next time he does, will anyone - including himself - have any faith in him to finally getting over the hump?

Bryson DeChambeau is new poster boy of golf and has Rory McIlroy blown his best shot at another major