Not speaking to DeChambeau ‘part of gameplan’

Rory McIlroy’s sports psychologist Bob Rotella says it was “part of the gameplan” to not engage with playing partner Bryson DeChambeau during the final round of the Masters.

McIlroy, 35, achieved golf’s career Grand Slam on Sunday with his first victory at Augusta.

American DeChambeau, who narrowly beat McIlroy to win last year’s US Open, started the day two shots behind his partner.

He briefly led on Sunday after a birdie on the second coupled with McIlroy’s double bogey on the first but eventually finished tied for fifth.

DeChambeau, who plays on the PGA Tour’s rival LIV Golf, was asked how McIlroy was feeling after he signed his scorecard and replied: “No idea. Didn’t talk to me once all day.”

Pressed further on whether he had tried to initiate conversation during the round, he added: “He wouldn’t talk to me.”

Speaking to Radio 4’s Today, Rotella said: “That didn’t have anything to do with Bryson. That was just the gameplan 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.

“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 number one.”

Australian golfer Min Woo Lee, ranked 25th in the world, also played down the significance of playing partners not talking to one another during a round.

“When you play in two-ball pairings, you move so quick you can’t talk, and plus they are in the last group. Tension. Not a big deal,” he posted on social media.