Should Rory McIlroy's caddy be 'in' at the US Open? The analyst says yes

Rory McIlroy missed from 3 feet, 9 inches away from the 18th hole during the final round of the US Open.

And from 2 feet, 6 inches away from the 16th hole.

But Smylie Kaufman also remembers the decision on the 15th hole, where, if it had been done differently, he believes that McIlroy “could have controlled the championship” that Bryson DeChambeau ended up winning. Instead, McIlroy hit a 7-iron on the 205-yard par-3 at Pinehurst, his ball ricocheting off the back of the green near a patch of traditional grass — and Kaufman wonders if McIlroy's caddy should have intervened.

“I felt like Harry Diamond should have gone in on the 15th hole,” the NBC analyst said.

He was speaking on this week's GOLF program Subpar podcast, which you can watch in full here. He was back with McIlroy last month during the Open, and Kaufman thought McIlroy should have hit an 8-iron on the 69th hole of the tournament.

“He didn't have the right club in his hands,” Kaufman said on the podcast. “And I felt that Rory could have controlled the tournament on 15 if he just hit it in the middle of the green. And he hit a good shot. But it was the wrong club. And he has never, ever been a 7-iron for Rory. Especially with the right flag. If the wind was down to the right, it's not exactly the flag and the wind condition and the heat so you can put it on the hula hoop, where you have to hit this kind of soft, pink, faded 7-iron. It was an 8 iron all day, hit it between the greens.

“I would say that was a big, big mistake.”

After the tee shot, McIlroy managed a chip-and-run shot to 31 feet, and missed the next putt to the left to start a stretch that saw him bogey three of the last four holes. In the podcast, Kaufman said that if “anything is in that hole, that's where you wanted to leave it. [with the tee shot].”

But what did Diamond do there? That was asked by Subpar co-star Drew Stoltz.

A conversation ensued between Kaufman, Stoltz and Colt Knost, another Subpar co-host as a CBS on-course analyst. It examined the McIlroy-Diamond relationship with other player-caddie relationships and poor digestion.

Said Kaufman: “To be honest, and I want to ask Colt about this, too, it's not often that Rory makes all the decisions. I've never seen Harry go into a ton. Rory always, if he has a question, he'll ask, but for the most part, Rory is the type to go and do his thing and he has a great sense. I don't know if you feel that way too.”

Said Knost: “Well, in my opinion, and this is not to knock a lot of caddies, but a lot of caddies today are talking too much. You know, they're on TV a lot. And Harry speaks very softly. I think he is giving his opinion; it doesn't sound like the boom mic picked up like a lot of the other guys.”

Said Kaufman: “Well, I didn't take anything out of 15, but …”

Said Knost: “I think he's quiet and doesn't want to be heard or anything like that.” But he gives his opinion to Rory. Harry is a very good player, by the way. There is a lot of criticism. … Should he continue? And I was like, man, Rory feels comfortable with his man. He's one of his best friends in the world, they've won together – I mean, it's not Harry who calls the shots.”

Said Kaufman: “I think there was a bad decision made, and when it came down to one shot, which happened, there was one shot…”

Stoltz said: “The miss was in the wrong place, I think that's the key. If you're going to miss anything, if you're in the middle, like we should be short.”

Said Kaufman: “In my head, as a player, if you shoot the way you're supposed to and you end up in a bad spot, you have to look at, okay, what happened here.” Because that's what happened on the 15th hole. I know Pinehurst, there is a lot of luck involved. Maybe that ball doesn't roll as hard and stays in that cut and he bogeys anyway. Okay, okay.

“I think I'm talking about it because of where the golf ball ended up, that if the champion hits a good shot and ends up in a bad spot, you have to question the club and the decision.”

Editor's note: To view the entire episode of Subpar, please click here or scroll below.

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for planning, writing and promoting news on the golf course. And when he's not writing about how to hit the golf ball forward and straight, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash down his scores. You can contact him about any of these topics – his news, his game or his beer – at [email protected].