Rory McIlroy will have a new caddie on his bag at the Bridgestone Invitational in Akron this week after the former world No.1 split with his caddie of nine years, JP Fitzgerald, after finishing tied-fourth in the Open Championship.
McIlroy, who won four majors and 26 tour titles with the Dubliner, paid tribute to him at Birkdale less than a fortnight ago for a pep talk which turned around his fortunes after opening up with five bogeys in six holes.
“He just sort of reminded me what I was capable of. And gave me a few positive thoughts,” he said. “JP, he reminded me who I was, basically. He said: ‘You’re Rory McIlroy, what the ***k are you doing?’”
Harry Diamond, a friend of McIlroy’s from Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland, may slip into the vacant role at Firestone this week, but there is no news of a permanent appointment, and with the US PGA Championship starting next week at Quail Hollow, it’s a position the four-time major champion will want to fill sooner rather than later. Diamond has caddied for him before, notably at the 2008 Dubai Desert Classic.
McIlroy, who has not won a major since picking up two in 2014, has been a vociferous defender of Fitzgerald in the past, notably after the player imploded on the back nine of his final round at the 2011 Masters with a first major in sight. The loyalty seemed justified two months later when McIlroy won the US Open. “He has taken me from 200 in the world to major champion,” he said afterwards and not long before becoming No.1 in the world.
McIlroy, currently the world No.4, has experienced a year of changes on and off the golf course. At the end of last year he had to find a new club supplier after Nike pulled out of the equipment market, while he got married in April.
Fitzgerald, who is reported to have earned $1.65m alone in the 12 months until June, has also caddied for Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke and Ernie Els, and will most likely not have to wait long to find a new bag to carry.