Rory McIlroy Was Right to Defend Caddie Harry Diamond From Criticism

View From The Fairway by Derek Clements

I tip my hat to Rory McIlroy. I have to say that when questioned by the media about his collapse at Pinehurst during the closing stages of the US Open I fully expected his responses to be brief and terse.

But that is not the Northern Irishman’s style.

You will remember that he had a two-shot lead but missed a tiddler on the 16th green and then failed to hole another short putt on the final green after reaching for his driver from the tee and finding the rubbish. He then announced that he would be taking a break from the game.

He was criticised in many quarters for snubbing Bryson DeChambeau, who won, and for failing to face the media. His response? "No offence; you guys were the least of my worries at that point."

And he re-emerged at The Renaissance Club for the Scottish Open, a tournament he won in such fantastic style in 2023.

When he presented himself to the press on the eve of the event he knew that the first question was going to be about what happened at Pinehurst, and that journalists hungry for a story would not let it go.

McIlroy admitted that the loss hurt but insisted that it was not his worst defeat, that it did not affect him as badly as at least two others - his final-round collapse at The Masters in 2011 and his bitter disappointment at failing to win The Open at St Andrews in 2021.

One thing I have always admired about McIlroy is his unerring ability to find the positive. I actually very much doubt that Augusta 2011 and St Andrews 2022 hurt more than his loss at Pinehurst but he has successfully managed to deflect attention by telling the world that this really wasn’t so bad after all.

He said: "I did things on that Sunday that I haven't been able to do in the last couple years. I took control of the golf tournament, holed putts when I needed to." Erm, yes he did. Right up until the moment when he really needed to hole putts.

He said: "The short putt on 16 is one that I'll probably rue most because it was a pretty simple putt. The putt on 18 was pretty difficult. There's not a lot that I would change about what I did on Sunday for the first 14 holes. That's the best I've played in that position in a long, long time. It was a great day until it wasn’t. I think if anything, I'd say my pre-shot routine got a little bit long. I started to look at the target a few more times over the ball."

There was also a surprising admission. Playing in the group in front of DeChambeau, McIlroy admitted to feeling uncomfortable during the latter stages of his round because he was "too aware" of what the American was doing behind him. Can you imagine the likes of Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Scottie Scheffler or DeChambeau saying that? Ifor the life of me, I can’t.

McIlroy said: "The few days after it were pretty tough at times but I've done a good job of thinking about it rationally and constructively, and taking what I need from it and trying to learn from it.”

I can’t help but wonder what will go through McIlroy’s head the next time he contends in a major, as he surely will. But it was entirely typical of the man that he should head out in the first round of the Scottish Open, knowing the eyes of the world were upon his every shot and mannerism, and shoot a 65. He ultimately finished in a tie for fourth.

How did he spend the days following the US Open? He went home on the Sunday and then enjoyed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in New York. And he was thankful that although many people would clearly have recognised him, everybody left him alone.

He said: “It was nice to sort of blend in with the city a little bit. I walked around. I walked the High Line a couple of times. I made a few phone calls.

“I was sort of alone with my thoughts for a couple days, which was good. I had some good chats with people close to me, and you start to think about not just Sunday at Pinehurst but the whole week.”

(Image Credit: Kevin Diss Photography)

So what will be going through his mind when he arrives at Royal Troon, knowing that it is now 10 years since the most recent of his four major wins - a poor return for a golfer of his gifts.

He said: “I'm playing great golf and it's another opportunity to see how I can hopefully handle it better than I handled it a few weeks ago."

His worldwide legion of fans will hope he is correct, but it will surely be even harder to break his major hoodoo after squandering such a golden opportunity.

I have been quick to criticise McIlroy for many of his decisions over the years but I was delighted that he took the opportunity to hit back at Hank Haney and Smylie Kaufman, both of whom had a go at Harry Diamond, McIlroy’s caddie. The player is clearly comfortable with Diamond on the bag and it is all too easy to forget that the pair have won a LOT of golf tournaments together. It was not Diamond who missed those putts and it was not Diamond who reached for the driver on the 18th hole at Pinehurst when a three wood was surely the club to hit. Does anybody really believe that Diamond could have talked his employer out of hitting driver on that hole?

Be sure of one thing - if the Northern Irishman should win The Open the noise from the galleries will be deafening - and there will not be a dry eye in the house. McIlroy has a good habit of bouncing back from poor performances. Let’s hope that this is another one of those weeks.

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