Bryson DeChambeau was supposed to be the biggest threat to Rory McIlroy heading into the final round of the Masters last week, but an underwhelming final round saw him finish T5, four strokes behind the eventual leader. It was Justin Rose who emerged as the unlikely challenger, forcing McIlroy all the way to a nail-biting playoff.
Instead, DeChambeau’s most notable contribution to round four came after he sank his putt on the 18th, when he told reporters that McIlroy didn’t speak to him at all throughout the entirety of Sunday’s action. DeChambeau came under fire for the comments, with European Ryder Cup hero and fellow Irishman, Padraig Harrington, blasting the American for his response.
However, with the Augusta National dust having well and truly settled, DeChambeau has clarified his comments to ensure they’re not interpreted in the wrong light. The LIV Golf star said: “He [McIlroy] was just being stoic the whole day; there was nothing more. I was like, he just didn’t talk to me. It wasn’t a slight; there’s no beef or anything.”
McIlroy’s psychologist, during an interview with the BBC, had previously suggested the snub was nothing personal against DeChambeau. He explained: “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. 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.”
DeChambeau had the unenviable position of being a few yards away from McIlroy on the 18th green when the 35-year-old missed his putt to win the Masters in regulation play. The golf star turned YouTuber did offer him a handshake and admitted, had McIlroy won the green jacket there and then, he’d have congratulated the achievement.
He added: “McIlroy deserved this one; he fought his butt off and absolutely did what he needed to do to win. It looks scary sometimes, but it was a roller coaster for everybody. And, you know, we gave everybody a roller coaster last year at the US Open. He did it this year at the Masters. So, it was fun to be a part of history.”
