Rory McIlroy’s sports psychologist explains his ‘no talk’ gameplan

McIlroy was in his own bubble.

One of the main talking points after Rory McIlroy's win at the Masters on Sunday, were the post-round comments of his playing partner Bryson DeChambeau.

The American revealed that there were no words between the two golfers during the 18 holes.

He was asked how McIlroy was feeling ahead of his play-off, after the Northern Irish man missed a par putt on 18 to win the tournament.

He responded: "No idea. Didn't talk to me once all day..... He wouldn't talk to me."

When clipped together in a highlight reel, the quotes from DeChambeau did come across as slightly salty, as if he was annoyed that there was no interaction between the two.

However, when viewing the full interview, it seemed that his frustration stemmed from his poor play, which filtered into all of his answers.

Speaking with Radio 4, McIlroy's sports psychologist, Bob Rotella, explained that McIlroy's silence was not a personal play against Bryson, but a game plan he had all week to stay focused.

Rotella said: "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."