Rory McIlroy won his first Masters on Sunday and did it in dramatic fashion as he rebounded from some late struggles and closed it out with a short birdie putt on the first playoff hole.
McIlory had a chance to get the victory on the last hole before the playoff but he missed his short par putt on 18.
One of the most impressive parts of his victory was how he was quickly able to shake that devastating miss off and hit three perfect shots in the playoff. McIlroy credited his caddie, Harry Diamond, for giving him a good reset after before they headed to the playoff.
"After scoring Harry and I were walking to the golf cart to bring us back to the 18th tee and he said to me, ‘Well, pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, absolutely we would have,’ McIlroy said. "That was an easy reset. He basically said to me, ‘Look, you would have given your right arm to be in a playoff at the start of the week.’ So that reframed it a little bit for me.”
Rory's caddie, Harry Diamond, said the right words at the right time to help Rory reset for the playoff hole. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qMgjlKggm5
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 14, 2025
McIlroy and Diamond have a special relationship that began when they were little kids. McIlroy got emotional talking about him after the win:
Brothers for life.
— GOLF.com (@GOLF_com) April 14, 2025
Rory McIlroy tears up talking about his friend and caddie Harry Diamond. 🥹 pic.twitter.com/LnU53v5diY
The victory made McIlroy just the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy’s Caddie Gave Him Perfect Message Before Masters Playoff .
