English tour professional Eddie Pepperell, who suffered his most recent major heartbreak at the 2024 US Open, has begged Rory McIlroy to fire caddie Harry Diamond.
English tour professional Following Rory McIlroy’s collapse in the latter stages of the 2024 US Open, Eddie Pepperell has beseeched the golfer to finally part ways with his longtime caddie, Harry Diamond.
McIlroy joined Diamond in the year 2017.
Even though both have won numerous championships on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, and Ryder Cup, they have not yet shared a major victory.
McIlroy prefers to avoid broaching the subject too much.
When he did so previously, he fiercely defended Diamond and called him a “easy target.”
Undoubtedly, Diamond will face additional inquiries following McIlroy’s most recent significant setback at Pinehurst No. 2 this past weekend.
Pepperell asserted on The Chipping Forecast that McIlroy’s outcome would have been very different had he had a “stronger caddie.”
He said to the podcast, “There are times when you have to limp over the finish line in order to win a golf tournament, and I’m adamant that on occasions like that can really be the difference that can pull you over that finishing line.”
“Looking at Rory today, I just feel like that was the main thing missing.
“What I learned right away is that he wouldn’t have made the bogey on the 15th if he had a stronger caddie.”
Pepperell was referring to the fact that McIlroy missed the green with a 7-iron on the par-three.
At the time, Sir Nick Faldo also gave McIlroy a hard time.
“I think that’s the bogey that changed the momentum and his mindset more than anything,” Pepperell stated after making a poor club choice and hitting in the one place he shouldn’t have.
“He only needed to hit it to the front portion of that green on 15 because he appeared so at ease and in control. Better expressed than done. Furthermore, I firmly believe that he would have won the trophy.”
Pepperell asserted that the result might have been different if he had been accompanied by someone like Steve Williams, the former bagman of Tiger Woods.
“I just believe Rory needs someone who can help him cross that line—someone who’s capable, like JP (Fitzgerald, his first caddie) probably used to be able to do,” he continued.
That was an odd club decision on 15 and maybe the last one as well.”
In the scorers’ enclosure, McIlroy appeared utterly distressed as he bided his time to see Bryson DeChambeau’s reaction.
Then he quickly left, choosing not to stick around and give the LIV Golf pro his congratulations.
Pepperell went on, “I think he needs a new caddie, but I wouldn’t have said this if he had won. It pains me to say that about Harry because I know he’s a great guy. And he’s a great caddie, I’m sure.
However, I felt that Rory needed someone to help him cross the finish line today. It was never Rory’s fault that he lost that golf match today.
“And I won’t back down from that. Had he had a stronger, more seasoned caddie, I’m sure he could have easily overcome the situation.
And I believe that’s the reason he’s not progressing as quickly in majors. That may not be correct, but that is my opinion, and a bogey on number fifteen was fitting.
He had total command. Bryson appeared anxious and tense as he watched on TV. Rory chose the incorrect club on the fifteenth, and he exuded an air of confidence.
Rory was stuck behind the green, unable to move.
It’s a bogey on 15, he’s now tied with DeChambeau at -7. pic.twitter.com/fVSPU4SDQ9
“He hit a good shot, but it went long in the one place he couldn’t hit, made a bogey,” said U.S. Open (@usopengolf) on June 16, 2024.
“As a player, I understand how it feels to be in charge on a Sunday.
You’re in a great little rhythm, so you want to get to the eighteenth green without anything getting in the way and ruining your mood.
Of course, at the US Open, anything can happen at any time, so it’s very simple to be startled out of your rhythm.
However, at that precise moment, a superb caddie would have forced Rory to hit an eight iron to 45 feet front and left, and he would have only needed to make two putts before making a bogey.
“Watching it, it seemed to me to just set him up for what happened.”
