'For once I listened': McIlroy caddie a Diamond in the rough

Diamond offered a different option: 'Why don’t you play it out here and we try to get it up and down?'

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, reacts after missing a putt on the third hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, Sunday, June 19, 2022, in Brookline, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

BROOKLINE, Massachusetts – Harry Diamond stayed home last week to be present for the birth of his second child, missing out on Rory McIlroy’s victory at the RBC Canadian Open. Diamond returned to work at the US Open and played a big role in giving his boss an opportunity to win a fifth major on Father’s Day.

McIlroy was in a dangerous spot on the 13th hole Saturday, struggling to inflict the least amount of damage to himself before he got off the golf course. Coming off a bogey at No 12, he’d pulled his drive on 13 into the trees left and was ready to try a hero shot through a gap over trees to a green with water guarding the front. It was the kind of play that offer more risk than reward – and the kind of mistake that has ruined too many major weeks.