Rory McIlroy has Harry Diamond back on the bag at U.S. Open

BROOKLINE, Mass. – Rory McIlroy will have his regular caddie, Harry Diamond, back on the bag at this week’s U.S. Open at The Country Club.

Niall O’Connor, a former rugby player, filled in as McIlroy authored his 21st PGA TOUR victory at the RBC Canadian Open. He shot a final-round 62 to hold off Tony Finau and Justin Thomas in a classic Sunday duel between some of the game’s biggest stars.

“Harry and his wife had their second child last Thursday, so he got in last night, and he'll be on the bag this week,” said McIlroy, who is fourth in the FedExCup standings as he seeks an unprecedented third win in the season-long competition. He also moved to third in the world ranking. “Niall and I's run has come to an end at this point. Pretty good record. Had a fourth in Dubai and a first in Canada.

“If I ever need someone to jump in for Harry,” he added, “I've got a pretty good substitute there.”

The Country Club will forever be connected to one of the most famous player-caddie tandems in golf history, Francis Ouimet and Eddie Lowery. Ouimet, the 20-year-old amateur who grew up in a house just off the 17th hole, and the 10-year-old Lowery, teamed up to win the 1913 U.S. Open, a seminal moment for golf in America.

“That's what's so good about golf is the history and the tradition and these stories,” McIlroy said. “The fact that he grew up just off the 17th hole here, and we're still talking about it to this day over 100 years on. That's so cool. That's the great thing about this sport.

“Yeah, great to be back to a venue where there is so much history.”

McIlroy’s one-week caddie switch may have lasting benefits. He paced off his own distances in Canada, became more personally involved in his yardage book, and, perhaps not coincidentally, had one of his best weeks with his wedges. Exhibit A: his crucial approach to kick-in distance for birdie at the 17th hole, giving him much-needed separation from Justin Thomas.

“Honestly, I think that helped,” McIlroy said at St. George’s Golf & Country Club, where he had just closed with an 8-under 62. “I take on a little more of the load (with O’Connor), but I think it really helped in terms of my mentality and my approach to some shots.

“So I think I’m going to keep doing it at this point,” he continued, “because I think it was helpful to do that again. I’ve gotten away from that and rely on Harry a lot for that sort of stuff, but it was nice to get back into the yardage book this week.”