Rory McIlroy’s heartbreaking collapse at the US Open last year has been brought into focus with the release of the new series of Netflix’s Full Swing, with a critical conversation being revealed
Rory McIlroy’s caddie Harry Diamond came under fire for his part in last year’s US Open collapse that prolonged the Northern Irishman’s 10-year wait for a major championship victory, and the conversation they had before his fateful final tee shot has finally been revealed.
McIlroy held a two-shot lead down the stretch at Pinehurst No. 2 in June as he closed in on a fifth major title, only to make a series of errors to open the door for Bryson DeChambeau, who would hold his nerve and win his second US Open.
Diamond, who has carried McIlroy’s bag for eight years, was criticized by some pundits for not being more forceful regarding club selection over the closing holes, with errant tee shots culminating in decisive bogeys. McIlroy has staunchly defended his close friend, and their talks before the tee shot at the 18th have come to light in the new series of Netflix’s Full Swing, which released on Tuesday.
McIlroy and DeChambeau were tied at six-under-par when the former – playing one group ahead of the American – arrived at the tee box. McIlroy had used 3-wood over the first three rounds and played the hole in one-under-par, but he pulled driver from the bag on the Sunday and tugged it left into a waste area.
From there, he could not reach the green with his approach and left himself a tricky 4ft slider down the hill for a par that likely would have forced a playoff. For the second time in the final three holes, McIlroy missed a putt of less than four feet and DeChambeau gleefully profited from the profligacy to claim a one-shot victory.
McIlroy and Diamond were criticised for selecting driver when 3-wood had delivered success earlier in the week, but their thought process has now been revealed, with both sharing doubts that he could reach the fat part of the fairway with 3-wood in the conditions.
McIlroy misses a par putt and loses the co-lead! pic.twitter.com/I6WWtvjZva
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 16, 2024
“Three-wood is just not getting there. I am sort of seeing the driver,” McIlroy said to his caddie, who replied: “OK, why not. Just put it in play.”
The driver is typically the most reliable club in McIlroy’s bag, but not at arguably the most important moment in a decade on the course for the Ulsterman. In the aftermath, the decision to use the big stick was the source of intense debate
Tiger Woods’ former coach Hank Haney and NBC pundit Smylie Kauffman were among those who were critical of Diamond’s guidance over the closing holes, honing in on the par-three 15th, in particular, where McIlroy took too much club and had to settle for a bogey after missing the green.
“I will say this: If [Woods’ former caddie] Steve Williams was Rory’s caddie, I can promise you he would have never hit a perfect-flight 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,” Haney said.
Kauffman added on his podcast: “I felt like (caddie) Harry Diamond really should have stepped in on the 15th hole. He did not have the right club in his hands. 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.
“I would say that was a huge, huge mistake. 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.”
McIlroy staunchly defended Diamond, firing back at both Kauffman and Haney. “Hank Haney has never been in that position,” McIlroy said. “Smylie has been in that position once, and I love Smylie, and he was out there with us on 18.
“But just because Harry is not as vocal or loud with his words as other caddies, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t say anything and that he doesn’t do anything. I just wish that, you know, these guys that criticize when things don’t go my way, they never say anything good when things do go my way.”
