Scottie Scheffler responds to accusations of ‘awkward’ Rory McIlroy encounter at the Masters

Scottie Scheffler was accused of spoiling Rory McIlroy’s Green Jacket moment at the Masters. Now the World No.1 has explained all…

What a strange little world we’ve created in which clicks are king.

We know. We’re as guilty as anyone. Ultimately, it’s what pays the bills. But, from a news perspective, we’ll always guarantee that what we publish is both true and with full context.

So it was a terrible shame to see some publications – mainly those who don’t specialize in golf, it should be noted – attempting to hijack one of the grandest days in our sport’s history with sensationalist articles about things that simply didn’t happen.

First, Grand Slam-winning Rory McIlroy was lambasted for “blanking” playing partner Bryson DeChambeau on the final day of the Masters.

DeChambeau was asked how McIlroy – who was about to go out and take on Justin Rose in a playoff – was doing. “No idea,” he replied. “He didn’t talk to me once all day.”

What they failed to add was that, regarding the atmosphere, DeChambeau said it was “electric”. “I loved it,” he added. “But he was just being focused, I guess. It’s not me, though.”

DeChambeau was also asked about McIlroy’s duffed chip on 13 that led to a fourth double-bogey of the week.

“I wanted to cry for him,” DeChambeau – who had played himself out of the tournament by that point – said. “As a professional, you just know to hit it in the middle of the green, and I can’t believe he went for it, or must have just flared it.

“But I’ve hit bad shots in my career, too, and it happens. When you’re trying to win a major championship, especially out here, Sunday of Augusta, the Masters, you have to just do it and get the job done and do it right. There were times where it looked like he had full control and at times where it’s like, what’s going on. Kind of looked like one of my rounds, actually.”

(By the way, if you’re upset that McIlroy didn’t talk to DeChambeau for their entire round, wait until you hear about what Tiger Woods was like in his prime.)

• Rory McIlroy’s long and winding road to redemption, a Green Jacket, and Grand Slam immortality

• Rory McIlroy reveals 10 words his caddie said to inspire Masters glory

Elsewhere, there were gossip pieces about how McIlroy’s wife, Erica, showed him little affection after his victory was confirmed.

This one’s easy to debunk – as it was caught on camera. (Plus it gives us another excuse to watch this remarkable seven minutes of television…)

Finally, Scottie Scheffler was accused of spoiling McIlroy’s moment when he was putting the Green Jacket on its new owner in the post-round ceremony in Butler Cabin – with some outlets describing the World No.1 as “awkward”.

Here’s the clip for those that haven’t seen it…

First of all, of course it’s awkward. It’s four men in a small room trading clothes and handshakes.

Second of all, to avoid embarrassing moments like the time former Masters chairman Billy Payne was left hanging by Bubba Watson, the defending champion is asked to put the jacket on his successor then hotfoot it out the way.

Here’s a clip from when the two best golfers on the planet repeated the tradition outside on the practice putting green…

Thankfully, Scheffler, who is also defending at this week’s RBC Heritage, was on hand to explain this one.

“In that moment, it was such an emotional day for him, I just tried to stay out of the way and basically get the jacket on without embarrassing him or myself,” he joked.

“I got to watch the whole celebration. I watched the finish. It was really cool for me to be able to see because I don’t have the understanding of what it’s like to be asked about the career Grand Slam, but I have a small understanding of what it’s like to be asked, ‘Hey, you accomplished this, but you haven’t accomplished that.’ It can be very taxing on people sometimes.

“It was cool to be able to see Rory get the job done. Definitely from the outside it looked a lot more like relief than anything. Rory has accomplished everything in the game of golf, and that was really the last thing for him to accomplish. The guy has won FedEx Cup, The Players, all four majors. Maybe the only other thing would be the Olympics is what he would want to win.

“So for him, it was really cool for me to be there in that moment. He’s a good friend of mine. To be able to congratulate him and just see the joy on him and his family was really cool.”

Well, that’s that cleared up.

Now let’s finish on a positive. Here are all 75 shots of McIlroy’s history book-rewriting day at Augusta National…