Eddie Pepperell is adamant that Rory McIlroy would have actually won the US Open last week had he made just one change.
Of course, Rory McIlroy is probably still wondering how exactly he did not secure his fifth major title at Pinehurst No. 2, with the Northern Irishman two shots clear of Bryson DeChambeau at one stage during the back nine in North Carolina.
Unfortunately, everyone knows what happened next, with the 35-year-old bogeying three of his final four holes to open the door for DeChambeau to win his second major.
McIlroy has plenty of what if moments to reflect upon, from hitting a seven iron on the 15th tee which left him with an awful lie behind the green, to the short putts on 16 and 18 he missed, and the driver he hit on the final hole.
Eddie Pepperell adamant Rory McIlroy needs a new caddie after US Open agony
McIlroy has to take a lot of the responsibility for those mistakes; he is one of the most talented golfers the game has ever seen and he knows what it takes to get across the line when the pressure is on. But some have also questioned the man on his bag, Harry Diamond.
McIlroy has worked with Diamond since 2017 after splitting with JP Fitzgerald, and speaking on The Chipping Forecast podcast, Pepperell insisted that he would have won with a more experienced caddie in his corner.
“Absolutely, and I come back to the caddie again there, a strong caddie, a Stevie Williams type figure, I’m adamant would have just got hold of Rory on 14, 15 and just pulled him through that finish and he wouldn’t have made [those mistakes],” he said.
“That’s an easy thing to say, Adam Scott bogeyed the last four holes at Lytham I think with Stevie Williams on the bag, so of course, ultimately, the responsibility does fall on the golfer, but I just think Rory needs somebody who’s capable like JP used to be able to do and help him get across that line, and I think that was an explicable club decision on 15 and possibly the last two.”
Northern Irishman will surely be considering sweeping changes after agonising finale at Pinehurst
It would be unfair to pin all of the blame on Diamond, and there is absolutely no chance that McIlroy would do so, particularly as they are childhood friends.
But it is hard to not pick up on the fact that McIlroy has not won another major since splitting with Fitzgerald seven years ago. He has had plenty of highlights since, and obviously his run without a major did start in 2014, but it was remarkable that his club selection decisions were being questioned by the television commentators before he even hit his shots on 15 and 18 on Sunday.
And certainly, a caddie would have had a massive role to play after that missed putt on 16 considering that the tournament was still there to be won.
It will be interesting to see what changes McIlroy makes across the board over the coming weeks and months, as he most definitely has the game to win many more majors.
But Sunday was definitely a low point in what is approaching 10 years of pain.
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