Rory McIlroy has issued a blunt response to Bryson DeChambeau’s remarks about being shown a cold shoulder in the final round of the Masters.
The American revealed after their Augusta showdown that McIlroy didn’t say a word to him for the entirety of their loop.
‘Didn’t talk to me once all day,’ DeChambeau said after losing their head-to-head on Masters Sunday. ‘He was just like – just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.’
With the pair rated as favourites for this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, McIlroy doubled down on his position when the topic was raised on Monday morning.
‘I don’t know what he was expecting,’ said the world No 2. ‘We’re trying to win the Masters. I’m not going to try to be his best mate out there.
‘Look, everyone approaches the game different ways. Yeah, like I was focused on myself and what I needed to do. That’s really all that it was.
Rory McIlroy issued a blunt response to Bryson DeChambeau’s comments after the Masters
DeChambeau claimed McIlroy did not speak to him during their final round together in Augusta
But the Northern Irishman insists he was simply focused on winning the championship
‘It wasn’t anything against him – it’s just I felt that’s what I needed to do to try to get the best out of myself that day.’
That McIlroy won the tournament to complete a full set of majors would stand as vindication for the approach.
The question at this stage is how his career advances from such a high. Having won four times at Quail Hollow, his pre-tournament chances of landing a six major a month on from his fifth are favourable. DeChambeau has the game to crash that party, as does world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, who play alongside McIlroy and defending champion Xander Schauffele in the first two rounds.
At 36, and entering what McIlroy anticipates might be the last decade of his time at the elite level, he will not be going down the path of publicly sharing new targets.
McIlroy said: ‘I have achieved everything that I’ve wanted. I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the game. I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I’ve done that. Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.
‘I think everyone saw how hard having a north star is and being able to get over the line. If I can just try to get the best out of myself each and every week, I know what my abilities are; I know the golf that I can play.
‘And if I keep turning up and just trying to do that each and every week, especially in these four big ones a year, I know that I’ll have my chances. I’ve always said I’m never going to put a number (of majors) on it.
‘I’ve talked about trying to become the best European ever or the best international player ever or whatever that is. But again, that’s not the full story. The numbers tell one story, but it mightn’t be the full story. I feel like I sort of burdened myself with the career grand slam stuff, and I want to enjoy this. I want to enjoy what I’ve achieved, and I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career, and I don’t want to burden myself by numbers or statistics. I just want to go and try to play the best golf I can.’
