Rory McIlroy's caddie bashed by former PGA Tour player

Former PGA Tour player Smylie Kaufman is the latest to offer his thoughts on Rory McIlroy's caddie Harry Diamond as the inquest continues into the Northern Irishman's 'choke' at the 2024 US Open. 

Bryson DeChambeau only claimed the third men's major of the year on 16 June and in the 19 days since we appear to have already had a full inquest as to what went wrong. 

McIlroy was up by two shots with five holes to play but in the end lost by one at Pinehurst No.2. in one of the most traumatic endings of his career thus far. 

The 35-year-old stormed off, belatedly congratulated his LIV Golf rival and announced he was going to take a three-week break from the game before returning to defend his title at the Scottish Open. 

Once again, the aforementioned Diamond has come in for criticism. 

"Rory needs a proper caddie," golf fans on X furiously typed. 

Kaufman did not suggest McIlroy needs a change on the bag, but is adamant Diamond should have stepped in sooner. 

"I felt like Harry Diamond really should have stepped in on the 15th hole," he said on GOLF's Subpar podcast.

Kaufman was talking about the moment McIlroy missed the green long and was left in a world of trouble. 

"He did not have the right club in his hands," he added. 

"And I felt like Rory could have taken control of the championship on 15 if he just hits it in the middle of the green. 

"And he hit a good shot. But it just was the wrong club."

He continued: "And [it was] never, never was a 7-iron for Rory. Especially with a right flag. 

"If the wind was down off the right, it’s not exactly a flag and a wind condition and the heat to be able to land it in a hula hoop, where you got to hit this kind of soft, spinny, fade 7-iron. 

"It was an 8-iron all day, hit it in the middle of the green. I would say that was a huge, huge mistake."

Of Diamond, he said: "I don’t really ever see Harry stepping in a ton. Rory always, if he has a question, he’ll ask, but for the most part, Rory kind of goes and does his thing and he’s got a lot of feel.

"In my head, as a player, when you execute a shot exactly how you're supposed to and it ends up in a terrible spot, you have to look at, all right, what happened here. Because that’s what happened at the 15th hole."

Some thoughts... 

I'm not really sure where to begin with this topic. 

Out of morbid curiosity, I'd love to see McIlroy change his caddie. 

But the truth, I feel, is that the best caddie for Rory McIlroy is simply who he believes is the right man for the job.  

If you listen to people close to McIlroy, they'll all say the same thing about Diamond: he is a diligent worker and extremely well respected. 

He has a quiet disposition, sure, but that doesn't mean he's not any good at his job. 

If McIlroy and Diamond were to split today, then his pal would wake up tomorrow with a flurry of job offers. 

A frequent suggestion over the last decade is that McIlroy could benefit from a 'stronger' caddie. 

What about Tiger's former caddie, Steve Williams? 

"I will say this, if Steve Williams was Rory's caddie I can promise you he would have never hit a perfect flighted 7-iron that rolled over the green on 15 into a terrible lie because he would have hit an 8-iron and sent it straight up in the air and held the green," Woods' former coach Hank Haney wrote on X on 19 June. 

Sure, but who was on Adam Scott's bag when the Australian bogeyed his final four holes to lose The Open in 2012 at Royal Lytham and St Annes?

Just my thoughts...

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