Rory McIlroy urged to ditch caddie Harry Diamond after US Open collapse

Rory McIlroy has been urged to ditch caddie and best pal Harry Diamond in the aftermath of his US Open collapse. McIlroy lost out by shot to Bryson DeChambeau after bogeying three of the final four holes at Pinehurst.

The Northern Ireland man missed two putts inside three feet, while he was also criticised for using a driver at the 15th hole which led to the first of those crucial dropped shots.

Two-time DP Tour winner Eddie Pepperell believes McIlroy needs a "strong caddie" if wants to win a fifth major. It is now 10 years since his last major win, at the 2014 PGA Championship.

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Pepperell told The Chipping Forecast podcast: “Sometimes, to win a golf tournament, you need to limp over the line, and I'm adamant that it is your caddie on occasions like that who can really be the difference that can pull you over that finishing line.

“I just think, observing Rory today, that was the big thing that was lacking.”

Reflecting on McIlroy's choice of club at the 15th, Pepperell said: “My immediate takeaway is that with a stronger caddie, he would not have made the bogey he made on the 15th. It was a poor choice of club, and he hit in the one place he shouldn't have hit it, and then, from that point onwards, I think that's the bogey that changed the momentum and his mindset more than anything.

“He looked so comfortable and in control and he just needed to hit it to the front part of that green on 15. Easier said than done. And I really think he would have walked away with that trophy.”

Pepperell (33), added: “A strong caddie, a Stevie Williams-type figure, I'm adamant would have could have just got hold of Rory on 15 and just pulled him through that finish.

“I just think Rory needs somebody who's capable, like (former caddie) JP (Fitzgerald) probably used to be able to do and help him get across that line.

“That was an inexplicable club decision on 15 and possibly the last too.”

Pepperell said he was reluctant to criticise caddie Diamond, a lifelong friend of McIlroy who has carried the Ulsterman's bag since 2017.

He said: “I wouldn't have said this if he had won but I think he needs a new caddie. I hate saying that about Harry because I'm sure he's a lovely guy. And I'm sure he's a good caddie.

“But today, I felt Rory needed somebody that could pull him through the finish line. Rory should never have lost that golf tournament today.

“And I'm adamant about that. I'm sure if he had a super experienced, strong caddie, he would have just pulled him through.

“And I think that that's the thing that's holding him back in Majors. I could be wrong, but that's what I think and a bogey on 15 was just emblematic.

“He was in complete control. Watching on the television, Bryson looked nervous, he looked tense. Rory looked supremely confident and he picked the wrong club on 15.

“He hit a good shot, but it went long in the one place he couldn't hit, made a bogey.

“I know what that feels like as a player when you're in control on a Sunday. You want to get to the 18th green without anything getting in your way that can scupper your mindset because you're in this lovely little rhythm.

“And obviously in a US Open, it's so easy to get jolted out of that rhythm because there's disaster lurking around any corner. But that's where a great caddie would have just made Rory hit an eight iron to 45 feet front left and just two putt and he made a bogey at the wrong time.

“To my mind watching it, it just set him up for what happened.”

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