Rory McIlroy wasn’t going to spill his heart out to Bryson DeChambeau with a green jacket on the line.
When reflecting Wednesday on his 2025 Masters win, the Northern Irishman defended his all-business approach entering the final round of Augusta National last month, when rival DeChambeau told reporters afterward that McIlroy “didn’t talk to me once.”
“I don’t know what he was expecting, like, we were trying to win the Masters, I’m not going to try and be his best mate out there,” McIlroy told reporters on the eve of the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
“Everyone approaches the game in different ways and, yeah, I was focused on myself and what I needed to do, and that’s really all that it was. It wasn’t anything against him, I felt that’s what I needed to do to try to get the best out of myself that day.”
McIlroy, chasing golf’s Grand Slam, climbed to the top of the leaderboard after shooting a 6-under 66 in the third round, setting the stage for a 2024 U.S. Open rematch against DeChambeau as the final pairing for Round 4.
The LIV Golf star, 31, had a shaky final round, posting four bogeys and a double bogey for a 3-over par 75.
Moments after McIlroy clinched his first green jacket and cemented himself in golf history, DeChambeau divulged he didn’t engage him during the day.
“He didn’t talk to me once all day,” the two-time major champ said.
When pressed if he tried to stir up a conversation with McIlroy, DeChambeau replied: “He wouldn’t talk to me. He was just like … just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.”
Much like DeChambeau, McIlroy endured a rollercoaster final round that concluded with a missed putt on the 18th that sent the tournament into a playoff.
McIlroy birdied on a one-hole playoff against Justin Rose, winning his first major in 11 years.
The newly minted five-time major champion also shared Wednesday that he tries not to re-live the winning putt because he “wants to remember the feelings” of the milestone moment.
McIlroy has enjoyed quite the victory lap following his Masters win, returning to his homeland with wife Erica Stoll and their 4-year-old daughter, Poppy.
The trio is also preparing to relocate to the U.K. later this summer.
McIlroy has been married to Stoll since 2017. The golfer filed for divorce last May before reversing course the following month.
The first round of the PGA Championship begins Thursday. McIlroy is paired with Scottie Scheffler and reigning champion Xander Schauffele for the first two rounds.