Rory McIlroy picks best friend to caddie at WGC-Bridgestone, PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy has yet to choose a permanent bagman, but for the upcoming PGA Tour event at Firestone and next week’s final major on the men’s calendar, he will have his closest friend, Harry Diamond, filling in for the fired J.P. Fitzgerald, according to multiple reports.

McIlroy’s representatives have said he will not confirm nor deny the Diamond report — or formally discuss the caddie issue — until he meets the press Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET from Firestone Country Club, site of this week’s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Diamond is at least one oddsmaker’s favorite to take over caddie duties permanently, though Paddy Power will let you bet that Phil Mickelson’s ex-caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay, Tiger Woods’ currently inactive bagman Joe LaCava, or even Romeo from Tin Cup, among others, will eventually hand Rory his clubs, so do with that what you will.

McIlroy, who split with Fitzgerald after nine years, four major championship titles, and an X-rated kick in the pants from his long-time looper at the British Open, needed someone to handle the luggage on an emergency basis and Diamond fit the profile. As an only child, McIlroy could not call on a brother to take the bag, as Mickelson did when he and Mackay parted ways last month.

Diamond has been McIlroy’s friend since both were kids in Holywood, Northern Ireland, and he served as best man at the McIlroy-Erica Stoll wedding in April. He is also not a newbie on Rory’s bag, having looped for the former world No. 1 at the 2005 Irish Open and 2014 Alfred Dunhill Links, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

Diamond, who knows his way around a golf course, also helped his pal with his shaky putting a year ago.

“I talked also to a good buddy of mine, Harry Diamond, about putting, as well,” McIlroy said during the 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, where he finished T3. “He’s a great putter and a great amateur player in his own right. He’s very knowledgeable about the game, and sent him a couple of videos.”

The timing of the Rory-J.P. divorce is interesting, since McIlroy lauded Fitzgerald for saving him from an early exit from Royal Birkdale with a motivational “You’re Rory McIlroy — what the f*** are you doing?” talking-to early in the first round.

[J.P.] did a great job,” McIlroy told reporters after carding an outgoing-nine 39 and coming in with a 32. “J.P. kept me positive out there, so that was very much appreciated.”

How quickly fortunes change in golf. Just two rounds on, McIlroy said a wrong club selection led to a double-bogey on the 10th hole and it’s no secret who gets the blame when a golfer uses an incorrect stick.

So, welcome to the Harry Diamond era — as long as it lasts. While Diamond is a decent player and teamed up with McIlroy in Ulster youth golf and beyond, he also owns and manages several pubs in Belfast, according to the Telegraph, so it’s unclear for how many tournaments the Rory-Harry duo will be a thing.