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In what can fairly be described as a “tense” or at least “very slightly aggrieved and/or sad” press conference following his final round at the Masters, Bryson DeChambeau made it clear that his final-round partner, eventual winner Rory McIlroy, was not exactly chatty.
“Didn’t talk to me once all day,” he said, before adding, “he wouldn’t talk to me.”
You can watch the clip here:
As these things do, it became a minor story in the wake of the famous win, with most responses seeming to sympathise with McIlroy and contending he didn’t owe DeChambeau a conversation. At the same time, speculation ran rampant that it might have been about personal animosity stemming from DeChambeau’s win over Rory at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst last summer, or perhaps an extension of the LIV vs. PGA Tour feud. McIlroy’s mental coach, Bob Rotella, provided further context and threw cold water on those theories when he said that it was all about Rory’s focus.
“That didn’t have anything to do with Bryson,” Rotella told the BBC. “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.”
On Wednesday at the PGA Championship, reporters had a chance to ask McIlroy about the incident. His reply was hilariously blunt:
“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.”
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Tough, but fair.
After that, he did echo Rotella’s remarks, saying it wasn’t personal.
“Look, everyone approaches the game different ways,” he said. “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.”
You can’t really blame McIlroy, and you can’t argue with the results. But the “I’m not trying to be his best mate” bit has to sting Bryson at least a little. No word yet on how he’s going to respond, but hopefully it’s with a multi-part YouTube series called “Can I make Rory my best friend?” Guaranteed 10 million views on the first day.
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Main Image: Michael Reaves
