Rory McIlroy has revealed how he shifted his mindset to make rival Bryson DeChambeau “invisible” during his final round at The Masters before clinching the green jacket to complete his historic grand slam.
McIlroy has enjoyed a fine year, triumphing at Augusta National before performing as a leader for Europe in their away victory over USA in the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
Entering the final round, McIlroy held a two-shot lead in his quest to finally win all four of men’s golf’s major championships, but the prospect of a head-to-head battle with DeChambeau lingered.
But with the help of renowned sports psychologist Bob Rotella, McIlroy was able to prevail, eventually defeating Justin Rose in a play-off, thanks to a change in his mental strategy on Sunday.
“I felt like that was going to be the toughest thing I would have to deal with that day, was Bryson himself, and just the way we completely, we’re polar opposites in terms of how we approach the game,” McIlroy told The Shotgun Start podcast.
“I felt like he’d have a portion of the crowd and I’d have a portion of the crowd, having to deal with that a little bit. I said that to Rotella. We met by the caddie area before I went to the range every day, he said, ‘how are you feeling today’ And I said, ‘I’m feeling good about my stuff’.
“I said to him the one thing I’m just uneasy about is the pairing [with DeChambeau]. He said, ‘just make him invisible’.
“I said what do you mean? He said don’t engage, don’t look at him, get lost in your own little world. You’ve got Harry beside you, have him be your companion and get lost in that little world. And that’s what I tried to do.
“That was the one thing, obviously I felt like that was the biggest impediment between me and winning The Masters that day. Once it was apparent that wasn’t going to be the biggest impediment, I made myself the biggest impediment.
“I have done a lot of interviews and talked to a lot of people, but there’s not one thing of that day that I’d want back.”
