Rory McIlroy will return to the course next week for the Scottish Open in his first tournament appearance since the US Open, but the debate over his final round continues.
Rory McIlroy may be in the midst of a self-imposed break from golf but the debate over his US Open collapse continues, with one former PGA Tour pro hitting out at the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy seemingly had one hand on the trophy at Pinehurst No. 2 last month, but he botched his final four holes and handed the championship to Bryson DeChambeau. He famously bogeyed the 15th hole after a poor tee shot, leading to a debate about whether he was listening to his caddie, close friend Harry Diamond.
McIlroy’s former agent, Chubby Chandler, explained that if McIlroy was set on a specific shot, there would be no way to override his decision, despite his connection to Diamond. Mirror sport He said McIlroy is too stubborn to let anyone overrule his opinion when it comes to what club to use.
And now former PGA Tour star Smylie Kaufman has reignited the debate by explaining on the ‘Subpar’ podcast that he felt Diamond should have been more assertive on the 15th hole and been firmer in his club choice.
McIlroy stood on the 15th tee with a two-shot lead, but hit his tee shot too far and dropped the ball off the green, leading to a double putt that allowed DeChambeau to take the lead.
“I felt like (caddie) Harry Diamond really should have stepped in on the 15th hole. He didn’t have the right club in his hands. And I felt like Rory could have taken control of the championship on the 15th if he had just hit it in the middle of the green. And he hit a good shot. But it just wasn’t the right club.”
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“And it was never, ever a 7-iron for Rory. Especially with a flag right. If the wind was light from the right, it’s not exactly a flag and the wind and heat conditions make it hard to land in a hula hoop, where you have to hit this kind of soft, spin and fade 7-iron. It was an 8-iron all day, I hit it in the middle of the green.
“I would say it was a big, big mistake. I never see Harry intervening too much. Rory always, if she has a question, she asks it, but generally, Rory goes and does her thing and she’s very talented.
“In my opinion, as a player, when you play a shot exactly the way you’re supposed to and it ends up in a terrible place, you have to think about what happened here. Because that’s what happened on the 15th hole.”
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