Rory McIlroy praises his caddie for what he did following his poor third round at The Masters, ‘I needed it’

Rory McIlroy looked to have thrown his chance of retaining his Masters title away after Saturday.

McIlroy took the largest-ever 36-hole lead at The Masters into the weekend, leading by six strokes. But by Sunday, that advantage had evaporated. A third-round 73 meant he entered the final round tied at 11-under with Cameron Young.

But on Sunday, he steadied the ship. McIlroy shot 71 on his final round, bogeying the 72nd hole to win The Masters by one stroke over Scottie Scheffler. His swing, which was all over the place on Saturday, looked to have been fixed overnight, and he was in control throughout the second nine.

Whatever happened between his third and fourth rounds worked, and McIlroy credited his caddie, Harry Diamond, for what he did to put him back on the right track.

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Rory McIlroy credits Harry Diamond for steadying the ship at The Masters

After his disappointing third round, McIlroy hit the practice range to find his swing. And find it he did, as he came into the following round a totally different man.

The Northern Irishman credited his caddie for suggesting they hit some balls afterward. Speaking to the Golf Channel, the six-time major winner said, “I think I needed it, and Harry was the one.

“When we were in scoring, he said, ‘Why don’t we hit a few balls, try to straighten this out. I’ll get over there, do your media, and I’ll get over there.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.’

“I probably would have got to that conclusion anyway, but that little nudge from Harry, it was like, yeah, let’s go and hit some balls. Because you finish late, it would be easy to just get in your car, go home, have some dinner, just want to get to bed. But Harry was like, ‘Let’s go figure this out.’

“So I get on the range, and honestly, I had a really good session.”

Diamond often gets criticism for not reining McIlroy in at times, as he is far less vocal than some of the other caddies on tour. But no one knows McIlroy better, and he knew exactly how to get his best friend back on form.

What Rory McIlroy did on the practice range to fix his swing at The Masters

It’s often said that if you have lost your swing at a tournament, it’s not possible to re-find it, but that certainly wasn’t the case at this year’s Masters for McIlroy.

He suffered with a right miss with his driver, which often sent him into the tees, and a left miss with his irons that put him in the water on Saturday.

McIlroy spoke about what he did to fix that miss: “I just worked on neutralizing my ball flight. My swing was getting too in-to-out, my ball was going to right-to-left.

“And when the path gets too much in-to-out, and you’re hitting partial shots, and the body stops, it just goes dead left like the shot I hit on 12 [on Saturday.]

“I neutralized the ball flight. I just got my body working through impact more, and that was the feel I went with [on Sunday]. And I definitely hit the ball better. I hit my irons better, and I probably hit the driver better too. I hit more fairways.

“But that practice session on Saturday night was key.”

McIlroy deserves immense credit for figuring that out in the crucible that is the weekend at The Masters. In the end, it won him the tournament.

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