Rory McIlroy's sports psychologist explains Bryson DeChambeau silent treatment during Masters final round
Bryson DeChambeau said golfer Rory McIlroy "didn't talk to" him throughout the final round of the Masters, and that was all apparently part of the plan.
When it's in between the lines — or with golf, inside the ropes — it's all business for Rory McIlroy.
That memo apparently did not get to Bryson DeChambeau ahead of the final round of the Masters.
The two were paired together again in a major, just like last year's U.S. Open, which DeChambeau snatched from McIlroy in the late holes. McIlroy even joked over the winter that he wanted to "get back" at DeChambeau for "what he did to me" at Pinehurst.
DeChambeau cracked, "To be fair, you kind of did it to yourself."
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It was friendly competitive banter between the Ryder Cup and PGA-LIV rivals, but nothing was friendly on Sunday.
DeChambeau said McIlroy "didn't talk to me once" during the final round.
That was all part of the plan.
"That didn't have anything to do with Bryson," McIlroy's sports psychologist, Bob Rotella, told the BBC, via ESPN. "That was just the game plan all week, and we wanted to get lost in it. We didn't want to pay attention to what anyone else was scoring, or shooting, or swinging or how far they were hitting it. We just wanted Rory to play his game.
BRYSON DECHAMBEAU HITS RORY MCILROY WITH EPIC JAB ABOUT US OPEN CHOKE: 'DID IT TO YOURSELF'
"The point is, if you believe you're going to win, just play your game and assume that if you do that anywhere near the way you're capable of, then you will end up No. 1."
Despite plenty of hiccups, it worked. McIlroy finally won his first Masters and completed the career grand slam on his 11th attempt.
DeChambeau said he enjoyed the excitement of the day but said his partner appeared zoned in.
"He was just like ‘eh.’ Just being focused, I guess. That’s not me, though," DeChambeau said.
McIlroy became the first player to win a Masters despite double-bogeying four times in the tournament. To combat that, he set a tournament record with 30 "3s" on the scorecard.
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