Mcilroy tries to find the best man for the job

Rory Mcilroy has turned to his best friend to undertake emergency caddie duties for the final major of the year after the shock dismissal of JP Fitzgerald.

Mcilroy is playing in this week’s WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron where Harry Diamond will take his bag and he will also be on the world No 4’s shoulder at next week’s US PGA Championship.

Quail Hollow will be Mcilroy’s last chance to win a major in 2017 and so avoid a third successive campaign without a major title.

Even though there have long been calls for him to split with Fitzgerald - indeed, ever since his infamous Masters meltdown in 2011 - few expected it to occur now.

In caddie circles, the development was not greeted with too much surprise. And do not expect an overload of sympathy, not just because Fitzgerald is estimated to have earned more than £8 million (NZ$14.07M) in his employment with Mcilroy.

Yet the timing is curious to say the least and suggests that there had been no planning in this parting of the ways. Apart from the few months at the start of his professional career, Mcilroy has known only Fitzgerald in his corner.

The 28-year-old’s managers refused to comment on the issue, saying nothing more than he would answer questions at his pretournament press conference tomorrow.

Diamond could even prove the permanent solution. A childhood friend, he is a fine player in his own right, having played with Mcilroy in the Ulster youth team and represented the Irish senior team.

He has caddied for Mcilroy before. When the then 16-year-old prodigy was invited to play in the Irish Open in 2005, it was Diamond who was on his bag. The pair are extremely close, with Diamond reportedly acting as best man at Mcilroy’s wedding to Erica Stoll.