Rory McIlroy’s Caddie Gave Him Perfect Message Before Masters Playoff

Rory McIlroy celebrates with his caddy, Harry Diamond, after winning in a playoff on the 18th green during the final round of the Masters.
Rory McIlroy celebrates with his caddy, Harry Diamond, after winning in a playoff on the 18th green during the final round of the Masters. / Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Rory McIlroy won his first Masters on Sunday and did it in dramatic fashion as he rebounded from some late struggles and closed it out with a short birdie putt on the first playoff hole.

McIlory had a chance to get the victory on the last hole before the playoff but he missed his short par putt on 18.

One of the most impressive parts of his victory was how he was quickly able to shake that devastating miss off and hit three perfect shots in the playoff. McIlroy credited his caddie, Harry Diamond, for giving him a good reset after before they headed to the playoff.

"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,’ McIlroy said. "That was an easy reset. He basically said to me, ‘Look, you would have given your right arm to be in a playoff at the start of the week.’ So that reframed it a little bit for me.”

McIlroy and Diamond have a special relationship that began when they were little kids. McIlroy got emotional talking about him after the win:

The victory made McIlroy just the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.


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Andy Nesbitt
ANDY NESBITT

Andy Nesbitt is the assistant managing editor of audience engagement at Sports Illustrated. He works closely with the Breaking and Trending News team to shape SI’s daily coverage across all sports. A 20-year veteran of the sports media business, he has worked for Fox Sports, For the Win, The Boston Globe and NBC Sports, having joined SI in February 2023. Nesbitt is a golf fanatic who desperately wants to see the Super Bowl played on a Saturday night.