'Well, pal...' - the key words of advice Rory McIlroy received from caddie Harry Diamond before Masters play-off victory over Justin Rose
Rory McIlroy has revealed the hugely significant role caddie Harry Diamond played in his play-off victory over Justin Rose as he secured Masters glory on Sunday and finally completed the Grand Slam of Major titles.
The Holywood ace picked up a cool $4.2m, along with that much-sought-after Green Jacket, for his famous victory at Augusta National.
And there’s no doubt long-time friend and sidekick, Diamond, deserves an extra cut of the prize money after some key, calming words he said to McIlroy before he embarked on that head-to-head with European Ryder Cup team-mate Rose on the 18th.
The sudden-death shoot-out was necessary as overnight leader McIlroy’s seven-shot advantage over the Englishman going into the final day had been obliterated.
A combination of Rose shooting a 66 on Sunday and the world No2 carding a one-over par 73 meant at least one extra hole was needed for a 2025 Masters champion to be crowned.
McIlroy - who saw off the challenge of Bryson DeChambeau (75) earlier in his round - will have been feeling the heat at this very late stage of the tournament. He missed a par putt on the final hole of regulation - one of five dropped shots over the last nine - as he finished tied for first place on -11.
But upped stepped Diamond to offer some comforting words as he helped his best friend reset and refocus.
Revealing what was said to him, McIlroy said: ‘After scoring, Harry and I were walking to the golf cart to bring us back to the 18th tee, and he said to me, "Well, pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning”.
‘I'm like, "Yeah, absolutely we would have." That was an easy reset. He basically said to me, look, you would have given your right arm to be in a play-off at the start of the week. So that sort of reframed it a little bit for me.
‘Yeah, again, I just kept telling myself, just make the same swing you made in regulation. And I hit a great drive up there, and yeah, the rest is history.’
Rory McIlroy: Harry Diamond is ‘massive part of what I do
Diamond has been on McIlroy’s bag since 2017, after replacing JP FItzgerald, who accompanied the Northern Irishman to his four previous Major wins.
It’s a partnership that has often been scrutinised in recent years. But McIlroy said there was no-one else he would want by his side in the field of battle.
Tearing up again after he was asked about Diamond and their 28-year friendship in his post-round Augusta press conference, McIlroy added: ‘I've known Harry since I was seven years old. I met him on the putting green at Holywood Golf Club. We've had so many good times together. He's been like a big brother to me the whole way through my life.
‘To be able to share this with him after all the close calls that we've had, all the crap that he's had to take from people that don't know anything about the game, yeah, this one is just as much his as it is mine.
‘He's a massive part of what I do, and I couldn't think of anyone better to share it with than him.’
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