JP Fitzgerald Reveals He Hasn't Spoken To McIlroy Since Parting Ways
Fitzgerald and McIlroy's decade-long partnership ended after the 2017 Open and they haven't spoken since
Fitzgerald and McIlroy's decade-long partnership ended after the 2017 Open and they haven't spoken since
JP Fitzgerald Reveals He Hasn't Spoken To McIlroy Since Parting Ways
JP Fitzgerald says he hasn't spoken to Rory McIlroy since the pair parted ways after the 2017 Open Championship.
They split after Royal Birkdale where, at the time, McIlroy had almost gone three years without winning a Major.
Rory began the week terribly, playing his first five holes in six over par, before ending it in T4th.
A Fitzgerald pep-talk, where he asked his boss - "you’re Rory McIlroy, what the f*** are you doing?" - inspired him to climb up the leaderboard.
The pair had been together for a decade, with McIlroy winning four Majors, three Ryder Cups, three Race to Dubai titles and the FedEx Cup in that time as well as reaching the World No.1 position.
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What makes it odd is that McIlroy hinted that he and Fitzgerald would still remain close after splitting, which obviously hasn't been the case.
“Sometimes to preserve a personal relationship you have to sacrifice a professional one," McIlroy said at the time.
In an interview with the Mail's Derek Lawrenson, Fitzgerald said of the split, "At the end of the day, I went away to collect my thoughts and recharge my batteries.
"It was obvious that I needed the break.
"But I've learned from every player with whom I've worked, and Rory is no different to others like Ernie Els in that regard.
"I'm appreciative of the fact they've all helped me to get better as a caddie."
Fitzgerald returned to caddying in June with Matthew Wolff but they split after a couple of tournaments.
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What made it worse was that the very next week Wolff won his maiden PGA Tour title at the 3M Open.
"I suggested to him that he might want to try a different driver and three wood, and he disagreed," he told Sportsmail of the split.
"We just didn't gel. It happens and I have no problem with Matt. He's clearly going to become a great player."
JP quickly found another bag in the form of Frenchman Victor Perez, with the pair tasting victory for the first time at the Dunhill Links Championship.
"Do you know, it's great to be back in golf, and particularly to be back home in Europe," he told Sportmail.
"Victor is such a lovely guy and he's a very good golfer."
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Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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