Rory McIlroy’s Masters won on Sunday, but one of the stories that made many headlines during the majors was that he gave his performance partner, Bryson Dechambeau, a silent treatment in the final round.
Now there is a critical reason that McIlroy didn’t talk to Deccanbo on Sunday. It was all part of the winning strategy.
McIlroy sports psychologist Bob Roterra told the BBC Tuesday that silence had nothing to do with Dechambeau.
“It had nothing to do with Bryson.” Rotella told the outlet. “It was a game plan all week and we wanted to get lost.
“We didn’t want to pay attention to someone else scoring, shooting, swinging, or they were hitting it. We just wanted Rory to play his game.
“The point is, if you believe you’ll win, then play your game and if you do it in a capable way, you’ll ultimately become number one.”
Deccanbo revealed that McIlroy did not speak to him in Sunday’s final round after McIlroy won for the first time at Augusta National.
“He didn’t talk to me all day,” Deccanbeau said. “He didn’t talk to me. He was just like that… I think he was just focused. But that’s not me.”
DeChambeau finished 7 under and tied for the fifth.
Meanwhile, McIlroy had the final round of a roller coaster that fell into the playoffs with Jestin Rose.
Rotella previously told Mark Cannizzaro that the Masters victory could bring McIlroy, the main winner of five times, to a further success.
“It would not be surprising to see Rory do something even better this week,” Roterra posted. [Masters] The victory was released at that point and put pressure on him. ”
