Rory McIlroy has shared how his caddie Harry Diamond helped him set a new goal as he outlined a timeline for the remainder of his career
Jake Bayliss Sport Writer – U35s
15:00, 03 Sep 2025Updated 15:01, 03 Sep 2025
Rory McIlroy has explained how his caddie Harry Diamond helped him find fresh motivation(Image: Warren Little/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy has revealed how a comment from caddie Harry Diamond helped refresh his ambitions as he provided a timeline for the remainder of his career.
The 36-year-old sealed his long-awaited Masters victory in unforgettable fashion, finally claiming his elusive green jacket in April by defeating Justin Rose in a play-off. It was a heartwarming moment and placed him among an exclusive group of golfers to have won all four majors.
Despite savouring his win at Augusta, McIlroy struggled to readjust after completing his ultimate goal, as was demonstrated by tying for 47th at the following month’s PGA Championship. However, McIlroy, who is set to compete at the Irish Open this week, has since revealed how a remark from Diamond provided fresh impetus that will stay with him for the rest of his career.
“Harry said to me, pretty soon after I won Augusta, he said, ‘It’s great you’ve won the Grand Slam but I haven’t yet,’” McIlroy recalled on Off the Ball’s Golf Weekly podcast. “So that’s cool. It would be cool to be able to do that with Harry.
“One of my favourite things about winning the Masters was being able to do it with Harry. We met on the putting green at Holywood golf club when I was seven years old and we’re striding up the last hole with the chance to win a green jacket.
“That’s as good as it gets for me. So if he’s on the journey for the rest of my career and we can pick off a few more, that would be amazing.”
Rory McIlroy praised his caddie Harry Diamond after winning the Masters in April(Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
The Masters victory marked McIlroy and Diamond’s first major win as a pair. McIlroy, who believes he can still compete at the top of the sport for the next eight to 10 years, won all four of his previous majors with JP Fitzgerald on the bag. They worked together for eight years before McIlroy switched to childhood friend Diamond.
The duo have claimed numerous PGA Tour victories and two FedEx Cup triumphs together, but Diamond was criticised heavily after McIlroy’s agonising collapse at the 2024 US Open. After completing his career Grand Slam at Augusta, an emotional McIlroy praised his caddie.
“We’ve had so many good times together,” McIlroy said. “He’s been like a big brother to me the whole way through my life.
“To be able to share this with him after all the close calls that we’ve had, all the crap that he’s had to take from people that don’t know anything about the game, yeah, this one is just as much his as it is mine. He’s a massive part of what I do, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to share it with than him.”
Rory McIlroy and Harry Diamond have been childhood friends since meeting at Holywood golf club(Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
A year that has seen McIlroy experience one of the best moments of his career has not been without its difficulties. McIlroy believes he could remain among the world’s top golfers for the next decade, but detailed his difficulties finding new goals after Augusta.
“I think what I didn’t plan for, what I didn’t think about, was how I was going to feel afterwards,” McIlroy admitted to Off The Ball’s Golf Weekly podcast. “In terms of sort of getting motivated again, to get going, and what am I going to do?
“Because for the last decade, my chase was to try to get that elusive Masters and win the Grand Slam. Now that I’ve done that, I think it’s just taken me a little bit of time to recalibrate and think about, ‘Ok, what are my goals for the rest of my career?’ I’m still only 36. I feel like I’ve got another eight to 10 years at the very top level of the game left.
“So, I think at this point, it’s just about resetting those goals and sort of giving myself more objectives to try to aim for.”