Eight years of watching his childhood friend take proverbial punches as a caddie were pent up when Masters winner Rory McIlroy let it all out on Sunday in his winner’s press conference at Augusta National.

McIlroy and Harry Diamond grew up together at Holywood Golf Club in Northern Ireland, and it was in 2017 that McIlroy hired him to carry his bag. They’ve won together 16 times since, but the Masters was their first major triumph after several heartbreaking misses.

When asked about Diamond in his press conference, McIlroy was brought to tears for the first time. He acknowledged Diamond’s detractors in heaping praise for guiding him to the sixth career Grand Slam in history.

“I’ve known Harry since I was 7 years old,” McIlroy said, his voice cracking. “I met him on the putting green at Holywood Golf Club [in Belfast]. We’ve had so many good times together. 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.”

McIlroy pointed to a moment Sunday when Diamond calmed him down prior to the nerve-wracking playoff, where he struck an incredible gap wedge into Augusta’s 18th green that settled three feet from the hole and set up a winning birdie.

“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.’ That was an easy reset.”

Diamond apologised Sunday night when he politely declined to speak to reporters. He has not partaken in any significant interviews since joining McIlroy’s team.

Because McIlroy split with experienced caddie JP Fitzgerald after the 2017 Open Championship—they won 13 times as a team—and hired his friend, Diamond faced considerable criticism from fans online and pundits. Notably, when McIlroy failed to convert golden opportunities in the majors. He squandered a four-shot lead at the 2022 Open at St. Andrews, finishing third, before runner-up results at the next two U.S. Opens.

A standout among McIlroy’s stumbles was last year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst, when the 35-year-old made several mistakes down the stretch. Among them were two short missed putts late in the final round to lose to Bryson DeChambeau.

Tiger Woods’ former coach, Hank Haney, and tour pro-turned-commentator Smylie Kaufman were among those who publicly questioned Diamond’s looping that day. Haney said Woods’s former caddie, Steve Williams, would not have allowed Woods to make similar errors while Kaufman focused on McIlroy’s decision on the 15th hole, saying Diamond should have stepped in over club selection.

Such discussions ignored McIlroy’s comfort with Diamond and the caddie’s own credentials as an amateur golfer; he won the 2012 West of Ireland amateur tournament at County Sligo Golf Club which qualified him for that year’s Irish Open.

Former World No. 1 and 2015 PGA Championship winner Jason Day could empathise with Diamond, given the Australian star also hired a childhood friend and accomplished golfer, Luke Reardon, only a month after McIlroy hired Diamond. Day’s previous caddie was his coach and longtime mentor Col Swatton.

“Harry is an incredible caddie,” Day said after finishing five-under-par for a T-8 result at the Masters. “… Harry is a tremendous caddie, and he works as hard as any caddie out there. I don’t understand how anyone could question his ability on the bag and, as a player on tour, I’ve never even thought about it. He’s just a great caddie.”

Main Image: JD Cuban