Rory McIlroy will soon return to the scene of his epic Masters win
Rory McIlroy had a disagreement with caddie Harry Diamond at the Masters(Image: Getty)
Rory McIlroy’s caddie Harry Diamond begged him not to take on one of the recovery shots that helped him win the Masters last year. The Northern Irishman will defend his crown at Augusta National this month.
McIlroy’s 2025 was a year to remember for a host of reasons, but none more historic than his win at the Masters and the completion of a career Grand Slam. It took a dramatic playoff against Justin Rose to get the job done, and he duelled with Bryson DeChambeau during the final round.
It was on this final day that an errant tee shot landed McIlroy in a predicament. The 36-year-old led DeChambeau by two shots to begin the session, but by the time they reached the Par 4 seventh, McIlroy had strolled into a three-shot lead.
Off the tee, however, he missed dramatically to the left and found himself among the trees. A debate ensued between McIlroy and caddie Diamond about whether he should just chip back onto the fairway and attempt par or fire through the trees in search of a birdie.
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Speaking on Amazon Prime Video’s Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait, he said: “Seven was a tee shot all week that I struggled with. When I was walking up to it, I’m just like, ‘Please have something. Some sort of shot and some sort of gap.’
“The one thing Harry and I always say to ourselves is, ‘All I want is a backswing and a gap.’ Harry was begging me, he was like, ‘Just chip it out, we can make four [par] this way.’
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“I’m like, ‘No, no, I’ve got a gap I can see a gap here.’ He’s like, ‘What are you talking about? There’s nothing there.’ I’m like, ‘No, no, I can get a 9-iron up, and I can do this.’
That is exactly what McIlroy achieved. His shot found the smallest of gaps and did clip the pines, but was judged to perfection, and he almost holed out from the first cut 152 yards away.
McIlroy could only laugh after this shot, but that smile soon subsided when his birdie putt fell just short. Yet, this miss did not go on to haunt McIlroy, and when he was presented with a playoff birdie putt to win the Masters on 18, he obliged, having failed to save par for the title in regulation from five feet.
McIlroy laughed at the shot on hole seven(Image: Getty)
Speaking about that green jacket-winning make, he said: “The only difference with the three-footer in the playoff rather than the five-footer in regulation is I was sure of the line in the playoff. I was a little bit indecisive with my line or my read in regulation. Again, one of the blessings, but also the curses, of going back to Augusta every year is you remember all of these putts.
“Whether it be your putts or other people’s putts that you’ve seen on the coverage. I always remember everyone putting from right of that hole location on 18.
“If they miss it, they miss it high. That was in the back of my head, so I probably gave it a little less break than I maybe would have, and I should have went (sic) with my first instinct.”
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