UPDATE — 4/16/25, 10:50 a.m. ET: Rory McIlroy’s sports psychologist explained why the golfer refused to talk to Bryson DeChambeau during their final round together at the 2025 Masters.
“That didn’t have anything to do with Bryson,” Bob Rotella told the BBC on Tuesday, April 15. “That was just the game plan all week, and we wanted to get lost in it.”
He added, “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.”
McIlroy, 35, won the 2025 Masters Tournament in a sudden death playoff over Justin Rose. DeChambeau, 31, finished in a tie for 5th.
“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 No. 1,” Rotella said.
Original story below:
Rory McIlroy had his eye on the prize at the 2025 Masters — and as a result didn’t have time to talk with Bryson DeChambeau.
“[He] didn’t talk to me once all day,’’ DeChambeau, 31, said on Sunday, April 13, of McIlroy.
When asked if he tried to “initiate conversation” with McIlroy, 35, DeChambeau replied per Golf.com, “He wouldn’t talk to me. … [McIlroy] was just like — just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.”
DeChambeau said he “wanted to cry” for McIlroy after the Irish golfer hit his third shot into Rae’s Creek on the iconic green in Augusta, Georgia.
Rory McIlroy Shared Poignant Moment With Justin Rose’s Wife at Masters
“As a professional, you just know to hit it in the middle of the green, and I can’t believe he went for it, or must have just flared it,’’ he said, per The New York Post. “I’ve hit bad shots in my career, too, and it happens. When you’re trying to win a major championship, especially out here, Sunday of Augusta, the Masters, you have to just do it and get the job done and do it right. “There were times where it looked like he had full control and at times where it’s like, ‘What’s going on?’”
McIlroy was ultimately victorious, winning the Masters on Sunday after a sudden-death playoff against Justin Rose. While walking off the green, McIlroy gave Justin’s wife, Kate Rose, a hug that lasted 13 seconds. As they embraced, Kate could be heard telling McIlroy she was “really happy” for him following his win. (Kate and Justin, 44 — who tied the knot in 2006 —share son Leo, 16, and daughter Charlotte, 13.)
McIlroy went on to celebrate his win with wife Erica Stoll and their 4-year-old daughter, Poppy. (McIlroy and Stoll, 37, exchanged vows in 2017. News broke in May 2024 that McIlroy filed for divorce from Stoll after seven years of marriage. According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly, McIlroy called their marriage “irretrievably broken.” One month later, McIlroy dismissed the filing.)
Rory McIlroy Wins Masters After Dramatic Sudden-Death Playoff
After taking home his first Masters title on Sunday, McIlroy gushed that it was “the best day” of his golfing life.
“This is my 17th time here, and I [had] started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy told reporters. “What came out of me on the last green there in the playoff was at least 11 years, if not 14 years, of pent-up emotion. I got the job done.”
