PGA Tour pro: 'Rory McIlroy's caddie gets a lot of s*** he doesn't deserve'

PGA Tour pro Alex Bjork believes Rory McIlroy's caddie Harry Diamond 'gets a lot of s*** he doesn't deserve' on the eve of the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.

A number of golf fans and even golf analysts have questioned in recent months whether the time has come for McIlroy to ditch his best friend Diamond from the bag after seven years together. 

While McIlroy and Diamond have teamed up for numerous titles together since 2017, it's now been a full 10 years since McIlroy last won a major.

In other words, McIlroy has never won a major with Diamond as his caddie.

Related: Rory McIlroy reveals why he's changed his phone number ahead of The Open

The World No.2 fell agonisingly short at the US Open last month, missing two short putts on the closing holes to hand the title to LIV Golf's Bryson DeChambeau.

McIlroy has had two recent other close calls in the majors, none more painful than throwing away a lead on the back nine to Cameron Smith at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews in 2022.

He also lost the 2023 US Open title by one shot to Wyndham Clark. 

But calls to axe McIlroy's caddie solely because he still hasn't landed a fifth career major title since the 2014 US PGA is madness in the eyes of one-time DP World Tour winner Bjork.

"Rory McIlroy’s caddie gets a lot of s*** that he doesn’t deserve," Bjork, who is competing in his fifth Open this week, told Sports on TV. 

"If you look at Rory’s scoring and tournament positions and rankings over the last few years, he’s always up there in the top three. 

"I don’t get why people think his caddie is doing a bad job, I think he’s doing a great job."

Bjork's comments about Diamond fall on the same day Ireland's Shane Lowry ripped into critics of McIlroy's caddie. 

McIlroy's Ryder Cup teammate told BBC Sport Northern Ireland criticism of the four-time major champion's looper makes his blood boil. 

"It makes my blood boil, to be honest," the Irishman told BBC Sport NI of the criticism he receives.

"They don't see how hard Harry works and how good he is for Rory.

"Just because he's not standing in the middle of the tee box like other caddies who want to be seen and heard doesn't mean that his voice isn't heard by Rory."

GolfMagic sat down with Ireland's Paul McGinley at Royal Troon earlier this week.

When we pressed the Sky Sports Golf commentator on whether McIlroy should consider sacking Diamond before the end of the season, McGinley replied: "No, I don't think so. He's a great caddie. Rory just needs to keep knocking at the door and that major will come. I think when he wins one, and it will be soon, then two or three will arrive soon after." 

McGinley also had some strong words about Jon Rahm on the eve of The Open.

Read Lowry's full comments here