AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Sunday's marquee duel at the Masters between Bryson DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy started with fireworks but ended in silence.
DeChambeau began Sunday's final round trailing McIlroy by two, then evened it up after the first hole when McIlroy made double bogey. DeChambeau took a one-shot lead on the second hole after making birdie.
After four, McIlroy led by three shots and DeChambeau would get no closer all day -- on the scoreboard or in the banter between the two rivals. When asked how his partner was on the course, DeChambeau responded, "No idea. Didn't talk to me once all day."
He was asked if he tried to initiate any conversation.
"He wouldn't talk to me," DeChambeau said. "He was just like -- just being focused, I guess. It's not me, though."
That was the least of DeChambeau's concerns.
He bogeyed the third and fourth holes, made his first double bogey of the week on the 11th, then bogeyed the 17th to finished with a 75, four shots back of McIlroy and Justin Rose before McIlroy won on the first hole of a playoff.
DeChambeau entered the day tied for 43rd on greens in regulation, then hit 11 on Sunday. On Saturday, he hit just nine but finished with just 25 putts. On Sunday, it took 32.
DeChambeau said he didn't realize how firm and fast the greens had become since Saturday, saying he played the third hole exactly the way he wanted to but his putt went 9 feet past the cup. He chalked it up as a learning experience for future tests here.
"I've never seen a putt faster than that," he said. "Those greens got really fast. The agronomists here at Augusta National and the Masters, they know how to play complete tricks on you."
Despite the lack of warmth on the course between the two contenders, DeChambeau said he could relate to McIlroy's ups and downs as he chased his first Masters, particularly when his third shot on the par-5 13th bounced into the water.
"I wanted to cry for him," DeChambeau said. "I mean, 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. ... 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."
DeChambeau said he "wasn't dialed in" on his irons, kept hitting the heel and was going to continue to work on finding the right fit.
"You're going to see some new equipment here very, very soon, which hopefully will optimize my game to an even greater level," he said. "Super excited about it, actually."
DeChambeau said he took confidence from struggling yet still finding his way into the final group on Sunday and finishing in a tie for fifth at the Masters.
"I take a lot of good from this week," he said. "I'm excited for the rest of my life."