Rory McIlroy cemented his place as one of golf’s all-time greats on Sunday evening by becoming only the sixth man to win the career Grand Slam.
He outlasted Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg and many more top players to win his first Green Jacket most dramatically.
The Northern Irishman hit some of the best – and worst – shots of his career in arguably the most entertaining final round in Masters history.
It’s only right that the man by McIlroy’s side throughout the day – caddie Harry Diamond – also gets his flowers for the outstanding achievement.
Rory McIlroy responds to caddie criticism after Masters victory
McIlroy’s 11-year wait to win another major championship has been attributed to many different reasons.
One idea which had been floated about was that Diamond was holding him back and that he should replace him with another caddie.
It’s fair to say that McIlroy put that to bed with his victory at Augusta National, in which Diamond played an important role.
The world number two defended his best friend in his post-round interview: “Yeah, I’ve known Harry since I was seven years old. I met him on the putting green at Holywood Golf Club.
“We’ve had so many good times together. He’s been like a big brother to me the whole way through my life (tearing up).
“To be able to share this with him after all the close calls that we’ve had, all the cr– 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.”
Harry Diamond played huge role in Rory McIlroy’s Masters playoff vs Justin Rose
McIlroy’s day so nearly ended in heartbreak when he missed a putt to win the tournament on the 18th hole.
He went to a playoff with Justin Rose and, somehow, gathered the courage to hit an impeccable drive and wedge shot to leave him with a tap-in for the Green Jacket.
McIlroy recalled what Diamond had said to him before the playoff, which gave him the positive mindset to attack the playoff.
He told the media: “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. 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 sort of reframed it a little bit for me.
“Yeah, again, I just kept telling myself, just make the same swing you made in regulation. And I hit a great drive up there, and yeah, the rest is history.”
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