Rory McIlroy Had a Good Reason for Not Talking to Bryson DeChambeau at Masters

The chatter-free final round at Augusta continues to be a topic, with McIlroy saying he wasn’t trying to be DeChambeau’s “best mate.”

Rory McIlroy (left) had nothing to say to Bryson DeChambeau during the final round of the Masters. / Harry How/Getty Images

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryson DeChambeau’s comments in the immediate aftermath of the Masters—when Rory McIlroy was engaged in a sudden-death playoff—continue to get a lot of run.

DeChambeau, who defeated McIlroy by a stroke last year at the U.S. Open and was paired with McIlroy during the final round at Augusta National, shot 75 to tie for fifth.

Afterward, DeChambeau appeared surprised that there was no conversation during the round. “Didn’t talk to me to me once all day. Wouldn’t talk to me.”

DeChambeau was simply answering the question but the story still has life.

He referenced it again at a LIV Golf tournament in Mexico City. And McIlroy’s sports psychologist, Bob Rotella, has weighed in and made it clear that it was nothing personal and all about “focusing on what he had to do.”

During a news conference Wednesday at Quail Hollow in advance of the PGA, McIlroy was asked about DeChambeau’s comments.

“I don’t know what he was expecting,” McIlroy said. “We’re trying to win the Masters. I’m not going to try to be his best mate out there.

“Look, everyone approaches the game different ways. Yeah, like I was focused on myself and what I needed to do. That’s really all that it was. It wasn’t anything against him or against—it’s just I felt that’s what I needed to do to try to get the best out of myself that day.”