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Bob Rotella: ‘That didn’t have anything to do with Bryson…that was just the game plan all week’

Published

2 months ago

April 16, 2025

Bob Rotella: ‘That didn’t have anything to do with Bryson…that was just the game plan all week

Sports psychologist Bob Rotella has revealed the extra helping hand provided by Rory McIlroy’s yardage book on the path to sporting greatness.

Now having closed the chapter on his decade-plus chase for a fifth major thanks to Sunday’s Masters triumph, McIlroy can drive forward without that extra burden of responsibility.

McIlroy has often referenced his work on the mental side of the game and, in an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Rotella offered some insight into the steps taken to help achieve that milestone victory – including a special addition to the yardage book traditionally just featuring maps or diagrams of each hole on the course.

“If you watched Rory, he was very locked into his own world…it’s just you and the golf course and your caddie,” said Rotella. “You get lost in this world that you’ve made up, and play the game you love.

“I think he did a beautiful job of that all day. He did so many things to bounce back time after time.

“We would have a chat every day before the round and he would make some notes and every couple of holes, he would take a look around to remind yourself.

“That’s what he was looking at.

“We begin with the idea that golf, by design, is a game of mistakes and if you love golf, you have to love the mistakes…you have to remind them that other players are playing the same game and they will also all make mistakes.

“The second part is understanding that you are a human being, you’re going to make mistakes…human beings have a free will and that means we get to choose how we think and respond to all the crazy things that happen to us on the golf course and in life.”

Rotella also addressed the comments of Bryson DeChambeau, McIlroy’s playing partner and main rival heading into the final round.

DeChambeau said that McIlroy “wouldn’t talk to me”.

Rotella said: “That didn’t have anything to do with Bryson. 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.”