Rory should ditch his best pal to have any chance at Carnoustie
Rory McIlroy headed the list of big-name casualties who missed the cut at the US Open.
Watching his struggles at Shinnecock Hills makes me think that it’s time for Rory to bring in an experienced caddie.
That is nothing against Harry Diamond. But I feel Rory is missing someone with a bit more insight to help him.
His season has been a tale of boom and bust so far. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, but there have been plenty of off-form weeks.
Rory doesn’t need a caddie when everything clicks into gear like with his final round 64 when he won at Bay Hill.
But you do require a veteran bagman in a week like he had at Shinnecock Hills. A good caddie can help you to scramble a score when you are not at your best.
McIlroy was in contention to win both The Masters and at Wentworth, but he couldn’t get the job done when the pressure was on in the final round.
I am not convinced that your best friend is the person to help you, or deliver the right message, when things are tough.
Now I’m not for one second blaming Harry Diamond for Rory’s poor week and inconsistent form. Far from it.
But I just feel McIlroy could be getting so much more out of his game if he had a Steve Williamslike figure alongside him.
Think of all the great work Williams did with Tiger Woods and Adam Scott down the years.
Rory may decide he doesn’t need to change anything, but The Open is only a month away and he has to get himself in the best shape to challenge at Carnoustie. Sergio Garcia has already made the change as he played at Shinnecock alongside new bagman, Mark Chaney.
Just 14 months after carrying his bag when Garcia claimed that long-awaited first Major at Augusta, Glenn Murray was relieved of his duties.
It didn’t help Garcia much at the US Open as he shot 75-79 to head home early. With four missed cuts and a 70th in his last five events, the Spaniard is in a slump.
He is 112th on the FedEx list, and has slipped out of the automatic eight spots for a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
His confidence was shot by that octuple-bogey 13 at the 15th hole at The Masters. As defending Champion, it was a devastating way for his reign to end.
He hasn’t recovered, and when golfers want to change something, the caddie is always the first person to go.
But in the last year, Sergio has got married and become a father. On the course, he has switched equipment.
That is a lot of change, and he possibly still needs time to adjust to those new circumstances.
Playing with fellow Spaniards Jon Rahm and Rafa Cabrera-Bello at Shinnecock didn’t help. These contrived groups don’t work.
Rahm was even worse than Garcia and they were joined by Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson and Jason Day as star players who failed to make the weekend.
But if the US Open continues with this crazy policy of handpicked TV groups, expect more of the same in future years.