Entering Sunday’s final round of the 2025 Masters, it appeared that the tournament would come down to a duel between Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau. The two were virtually trading shot for shot at the top of the leaderboard until DeChambeau buckled with bogeys on holes No. 3 and 4.
With the two competitors paired up for the final round, those watching in person or on television might have wondered what sorts of interactions there were between the two as they walked the course. But according to DeChambeau, there wasn’t any chatter — friendly or otherwise.
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“Didn’t talk to me once all day,” DeChambeau said, via Golf.com.
Asked if he tried to initiate any conversation with McIlroy, DeChambeau replied, “He wouldn’t talk to me.”
DeChambeau seemingly tried to portray McIlroy as unsportsmanlike in refusing to engage during that final round. Yet plenty of fans and media would say that McIlroy was tuning out all distractions as he focused on attempting to win the first Masters of his acclaimed career.
The two-time U.S. Open winner was surely upset about letting the lead slip from his grasp so close to the end, but perhaps he was also miffed that any tactics he was trying to employ were being dismissed. Maybe that was impolite, but a victory was at stake.
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Would anyone fault LeBron James if he didn’t talk to Stephen Curry during a Game 7? What if Shohei Ohtani ignored whatever the opposing catcher might be saying during a ninth-inning at-bat in the World Series? Granted, circumstances are different among particular sports. And perhaps some decorum is expected in the setting DeChambeau was describing.
However, McIlroy explained in an interview with CBS’ Amanda Balionis on Saturday how he would lock in to what he needed to do, rather than acknowledge what else may be happening — such as a rematch with DeChambeau from their standoff during the 2024 U.S. Open.
“I think the big thing is not to make it a rematch, stay in my own little world,” McIlroy said. “There’s a few other people on that leaderboard that could make a run, so I just have to do what I’ve been doing, sort of surround myself in my own little cocoon and just get into my own little bubble.
“He’ll do what he does and I just have to stay firm and just stay in my own little world.”
By saying “he’ll do what he does,” McIlroy may have indicated that he was familiar with whatever tactics DeChambeau could try to get in his head or distract him from the task at hand. Or maybe McIlroy just wouldn’t have talked to anyone near him in that situation because of the stakes. With his win, it’s difficult to argue with the results.
