British Open 2017: Caddie to Rory McIlroy, ‘What the f*** are you doing?’

Rory McIlroy, only six holes into round one of the British Open, was well on his way to missing the cut at Royal Birkdale when his caddie kicked him in the ass. Figuratively, that is, because it was actually an R-rated admonition from J.P. Fitzgerald that lifted McIlroy out of the doldrums and a certain early exit and into contention at Royal Birkdale.

With his boss at 4-over through five holes — and with McIlroy on pace for his third straight MC and fourth in his last five starts — Rory’s longtime looper had seen enough and let the four-time major champion know it.

“‘You’re Rory McIlroy,’” the golfer recalled Fitzgerald saying Thursday, after an opening round in which he went out in 5-over 39 and came in with a 4-under 32. “‘What the f*** are you doing?’”

McIlroy said he paid the advice no mind at the time but realized later it was just the talking-to he needed after he pulled his game together on the back nine and finished at 1-over, just six shots back of 18-hole co-leaders Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, and Matt Kuchar.

“I mumbled and said, ‘Whatever.’ But it … definitely helped. It kept me positive. So he did a great job,” said McIlroy, who noted that such stern lectures from J.P. were rare but not unheard of.

“Thankfully he’s not had to do it too often. But, yeah, he’s had to do it a few times. And he’s never afraid to do that. And I feel today it helped a lot more than at other times because I needed something,” McIlroy conceded. “I couldn’t look within myself. I was trying to look within myself. But J.P. kept me positive out there, so that was very much appreciated.”

Rory’s 2010 Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie concurred with McIlroy’s sentiments.

“You miss two putts in a row, 5-over at the turn, of course self-doubts creep in,” Monty said Friday morning on the Golf Channel. “That is when the caddy earns his stripes. Definitely. That is when you need a good caddy.”

Montgomerie’s colleague, Brandel Chamblee, also gave Fitzgerald credit for Rory’s rebound.

“Everyone loves a good comeback story, and boy do we have a good one brewing here at The Open being authored by a man who won four major championships, but perhaps being inspired by his caddy J.P. Fitzgerald,” Chamblee said. “It [Fitzgerald’s conversation with McIlroy] did the job and sparked quite a comeback yesterday, which has continued today.”

McIlroy did make a bit of a charge during Friday’s second round, making six birdies in his first six holes to get to 3-under for the week.

His stiffed approach on the par-4 sixth was vintage Rory, who easily made the 4-foot putt.

He hit a speed bump coming in, with bogeys on Nos. 13 and 15. But an unlikely birdie on the par-5 17th, after his flushed iron shot flew the green and he chipped up close from the back of the green, rekindled Rory’s bravado.

McIlroy finished with a 68, and at 1-under heading into the weekend, he no doubt gave Spieth and Koepka something to think about before they teed off in the afternoon wave.