Rory McIlroy’s mental coach reveals why he didn’t speak to Bryson DeChambeau on Masters Sunday.
Rory McIlroy’s aggressive approach to playing Augusta National—save for that ill-fated layup Sunday on No. 13—helped him finally claim that elusive first green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. Turns out, he also had a game plan when it came to talking on the course.
McIlroy’s final-round playing partner, Bryson DeChambeau, said after that McIlroy didn’t talk to him for the entire round. And other than McIlroy making history, his not talking became the most-talked about part of that dramatic final day.
Many people speculated the rivalry between the PGA Tour and LIV being the main cause of this lack of chatter. Or, more specifically, a brewing rivalry between Bryson and Rory following last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where McIlroy suffered his latest major heartbreak while DeChambeau triumphed. Then a few months later, there was this awkward moment on the range ahead of “The Showdown,” a made-for-TV exhibition in which Team PGA Tour (McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler) topped Team LIV (DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka) in Vegas.
McIlroy had to take at least a little added pleasure from taking down DeChambeau on Sunday, but the silent treatment he gave him was nothing personal, according to Bob Rotella. The renowned sports psychologist who works with McIlroy spoke to the BBC on Tuesday and explained McIlroy’s lack of chatter with his opponent during that crazy final round at Augusta National.
According to Rotella in an interview with BBC their strategy excluded any focus on Bryson’s performance because their plan was different from the beginning, said Rotella to BBC. Our team worked according to this designed strategy for the whole week and aimed for full immersion into it.
Our team ignored every score and hit and swing and distance measurement from other competitors during the tournament. Rory should have focused on playing his usual style of golf.
The outcome speaks for itself without any objections. Great golf champions including Tiger Woods have secured this method during big tournaments to become fully focused according to numerous observers. Everyone extends their efforts to procure any advantage through potential means. Based on Bryson’s response researchers think his routine had an adverse effect on his game performance during the final round.
Rotella stressed that winning belief leads golfers to perform their best game always ending in first place.
The decision to wear a green jacket became his approach to getting locked in during this competition.
