Rory McIlroy discussed his US Open disappointment and defended his caddie Harry Diamond in his first address to media since he now infamously drove off after his US Open defeat at Pinehurst No.2 last month.
The Northern Irishman has taken a few weeks away from the limelight as he attempts to win his fifth Major title next week at Royal Troon and bounce back in style following what would have been a very difficult loss to take.
Since that loss, his caddie Harry Diamond has come under criticism - most publicly from Hank Haney and Golf Channel analyst Smylie Kaufman. McIlroy went long of the par 3 15th hole during the final round after appearing to take one club too many, something that Diamond has been questioned for.
“Just because Harry is not as vocal or loud with his words as other caddies, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t say anything and that he doesn’t do anything," McIlroy said in defense of his bagman.
“These guys that criticise when things don’t go my way, they never say anything good when things do go my way.
“Where were they when I won Dubai earlier year, or Quail Hollow, or the two FedEx Cups that I’ve won with Harry, or the two Ryder Cups, or whatever? They are never there to say Harry did such a great job when I win, but they are always there to criticize when we don’t win.
“At the end of the day, they are not there. They are in the in the arena. They are not the ones hitting the shots and making the decisions."
He also described his missed putts on the 16th and 18th holes at Pinehurst, and said it was the short one on 16 that he will rue the most.
"The short putt on 16 is one that I'll probably rue most because it was a pretty simple putt. The putt on 18 was pretty difficult," he said.
"You know, there's not a lot that I would change about what I did on Sunday for the first 14 holes. That's the best I've played in that position in a long, long time.
"Yeah, look, obviously there's moments where you know, my mind sort of wanders back to those final four holes, and you wish that things would have been different."
Here's more of what Rory McIlroy had to say in his Scottish Open press conference...
This is going to be an interesting one today, where we'll hopefully hear McIlroy's thoughts on what went wrong at Pinehurst No.2. He may also want to address his quick exit and also publicly congratulate Bryson DeChambeau for his stunning par save on the 72nd hole.
He is also defending champion here at the Scottish Open, so I suspect he'll be asked about his incredible 2-iron shot last year, how he feels returning to defend his title and also what his game is like ahead of Troon next week.
MCILROY SPEAKING AFTER PRO-AM
McIlroy has been out on the course this morning at the Renaissance Club playing in the Pro-Am.
MCILROY DUE IN SOON
He is set to speak to media at 10.45am BST so in just under five minutes' time.
Good morning from Scotland 🤩@McIlroyRory | @ScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/RWTZXfY4o2July 10, 2024
MCILROY'S NEW PLAQUE
Very cool new plaque at the Renaissance Club commemorating Rory McIlroy's Scottish Open-winning 2-iron from last year 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/zxrZtUloRIJuly 9, 2024
MCILROY ON PINEHURST:
"It was a great day until it wasn't. I did things on that Sunday that I haven't been able to do in a couple of years.
"As you get further away from it happening, you start to see the positives."
Taking away positives from Pinehurst.Rory McIlroy reflects on the U.S. Open. pic.twitter.com/RF5qAtGInrJuly 10, 2024
MCILROY ON HIS SHORT MISS ON 16 IN US OPEN FINAL ROUND:
Rory McIlroy said today that he can “vividly remember starting to feel a little uncomfortable” as he waited to hit his ill-fated par putt on Pinehurst’s 16th. He also said he may have been too aware of Bryson on the back nine, a byproduct of Pinehurst’s intimate routing.“It…July 10, 2024
MCILROY ON HIS MISSED PUTT ON 18 AT PINEHURST 2:
"The putt on the last, it was a really tricky putt. And I was very aware of where Bryson was off the tee. I knew I had to hit it really soft. If the one back didn't matter, I would have hit it firmer.
"But because I was sort of in two minds, I didn't know whether Bryson was going to make a par or not, it was one of those ones where I had to make sure that if the putt didn't go in, that it wasn't going ten feet by which it very easily could have.
"I just left [his chip] on the wrong side of the hole. I got a above the hole. Where the hole was cut was on top of the little slope, and ended up pretty dry and crusty around the hole.
"And the chip shot just ran out a little bit and got past the hole. I hit that putt very, very easy, and obviously just missed on the low side, and it still went a good three or four feet by.
"So I was probably playing it, I don't know, like two, two, and a half cups left, whatever it was, three-and-a-half-foot putt. There was a lot of swing to it, especially with how easy I was hitting it.
"Like I said, if it was match play and the next one didn't matter I would have approached the putt differently. But knowing that Bryson had hit it left off the tee, I just sort of wanted to make sure that if there was still a chance at a playoff, that it was at least going to be that."
Quotes per the PGA Tour's Sean Martin:
Rory on his missed putt at Pinehurst’s 18th hole:"The putt on the last, it was a really tricky putt. And I was very aware of where Bryson was off the tee. I knew I had to hit it really soft. If the one back didn't matter, I would have hit it firmer. But because I was sort of in…July 10, 2024
MCILROY SPEAKING TO SKY SPORTS ON HIS US OPEN LOSS:
"I got over it pretty quickly, the first few days after it were pretty tough" 💬Rory McIlroy reflects on his US Open heartbreak and looks ahead to returning to action at the Scottish Open ⛳ pic.twitter.com/zxiwzIDQbmJuly 10, 2024
MCILROY IN DEFENSE OF HARRY DIAMOND:
"You know, it's certainly unfair. Hank Haney has never been in that position. Smylie has been in that position once, and I love Smylie, and he was out there with us on 18. But just because Harry is not as vocal or loud with his words as other caddies, it doesn't mean that he doesn't say anything and that he doesn't do anything.
"I just wish that you know, these guys that criticize when things don't go my way, they never say anything good when things do go my way. So where were they when I won Dubai earlier year or Quail Hollow or the two FedEx Cups that I've won with Harry or the two Ryder Cups or whatever?
"They are never there to say Harry did such a great job when I win, but they are always there to criticize when we don't win. At the end of the day, they are not there. They are in the in the arena. They are not the ones hitting the shots and making the decisions.
"Someone said to me once, you would never -- if you would never take advice from these people, you would never take their criticisms, either. Certainly wouldn't go to Hank Haney for advice. I love Smylie, but I think I know what I'm doing, and so does Harry."
In the days after Rory McIlroy's loss at the U.S. Open, his caddie, Harry Diamond, faced criticism for what he didn't do to help McIlroy.McIlroy had an impassioned defense of Harry in his presser this morning, "I think I know what I'm doing, and so does Harry."Full quote ⬇️…July 10, 2024
MCILROY ON THE POSITIVES TAKEN FROM US OPEN:
"I did things on that Sunday that I hadn't been able to do in the last couple of years.
"Took control of the golf tournament. Held putts when I needed to. Well, mostly when I needed to. Made birdies. You know, really got myself in there."
'IT WAS A TOUGH DAY'
"It was a tough day. It was a tough few days after that, obviously.
"But I think as you get further away from it happening, you start to see the positives and you start to see all the good things that you did throughout the week."
HE WAS 'VERY AWARE' OF BRYSON DECHAMBEAU'S SCORE:
"Just the way the course flowed, it just made me very aware of what he was doing at the same time. So it sort of got me out of my own little world a little bit.
"But when I look back on that day, just like I look back on some of my toughest moments in my career, I'll learn a lot from it and I'll hopefully put that to good use.
"It's something that's been a bit of a theme throughout my career. I've been able to take those tough moments and turn them into great things."
Rory McIlroy defended his caddie Harry Diamond after criticism following his US Open loss in his first press conference since Pinehurst 2 pic.twitter.com/7Uyl9vrRZRJuly 10, 2024
HOPES NEXT OPPORTUNITY WON'T PASS HIM BY
"I still think about the short missed putt that I missed at Crans-sur-Sierre in 2008 in a playoff. You think about all of them. And I was probably more devastated after that because it was my rookie year on Tour; I hadn't won yet. I remember feeling really bad after that for like a good week.
"Yeah, I stewed on what happened at Pinehurst for a couple of days, but then, yeah, thankfully I can go home and look at what I've achieved in the game and sort of feel okay about myself.
"Yeah, look, it was a great opportunity. It passed me by but hopefully when I get that next opportunity, it won't pass me by."
NO REGRETS ON LEAVING STRAIGHT AFTER US OPEN:
"Absolutely not. No. There's nothing that I could have said that was - not that - I mean, it would have been good because you guys would have been able to write something about it or have a few quotes from me. No offence; you guys were the left of my worries at that point."
HE WENT TO NEW YORK AFTER US OPEN:
"It was okay. I went home on Sunday night and actually spent Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday in Manhattan, which was sort of planned anyway. Because obviously I was going to go play the Travelers and ended up not doing that.
"Went to Manhattan, which was nice. It was nice to sort of blend in with the city a little bit. I walked around. I walked the High Line a couple of times. I made a few phone calls. Sort of was alone with my thoughts for a couple days, which was good.
"I had some good chats with people close to me, and as you start to think about not just Sunday at Pinehurst but the whole way throughout the weak, there was a couple of things that I noticed that I wanted to try to work on over the last few weeks coming into here, and obviously next week at Troon.
"They were hard but at the same time, as each day went by, it became easier to focus on the positives and then to think about the future instead of what had just happened."
HIS PLAQUE HAD HIS NAME SPELT WRONG:
"Not physically but I've seen it online, yeah. They spelt my name wrong first time around. It's there now thankfully."
Very cool new plaque at the Renaissance Club commemorating Rory McIlroy's Scottish Open-winning 2-iron from last year 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/zxrZtUloRIJuly 9, 2024
MISSED PUTT ON 16 THE ONE HE REALLY RUES:
"The short putt on 16 is one that I'll probably rue most because it was a pretty simple putt. The putt on 18 was pretty difficult.
"You know, there's not a lot that I would change about what I did on Sunday for the first 14 holes. That's the best I've played in that position in a long, long time.
"Yeah, look, obviously there's moments where you know, my mind sort of wanders back to those final four holes, and you wish that things would have been different.
"But as long as I learned from them and move on, you know, it's good to get back on the course this week at The Scottish Open, and then obviously have another opportunity next week at Troon."
US OPEN WASN'T THE TOUGHEST LOSS OF HIS CAREER:
"I think as you achieve more in the game, you can soften the blow, if you look at everything I've been able to accomplish. It's been a while since I've won a Major but it hurt but I felt worse after some other losses.
"I felt worse after Augusta in '11 and I felt worse after St Andrews. It was up there with the tough losses but not the toughest."