McIlroy has stuck up for his bagman and best friend Harry Diamond after questions over their partnership
McIlroy: Diamond One Of The Best Caddies On Tour
His caddie Harry Diamond has been on the bag for a year and a half now and has faced criticisms for McIlroy's struggles to get over the line.
Diamond is the four-time Major winner's best friend and the pair initially began working with each other so Rory could begin to take more control of the player-caddie partnership by having more say in his yardages and club choices.
"Harry has been a massive part of this and making me more comfortable on the golf course," he said.
"He's been on the bag for just under two years, like 20 months or something like that. We've got two wins, but I feel like even the experiences we've had on the golf course already have been huge.
"Harry has been a big part of the success. I don't think people give -- they just think he's my best friend and I got him on the bag because I didn't want to listen to anyone else. But that's not true.
"Harry is an accomplished golfer, and he has turned into one of the best caddies out here, if not the best. He's so committed. He's so professional. And having him by my side out there is so good, and it's so comforting.
"He knows when to talk to me, whenever I need distracting, in terms of not thinking too much about what's going on around me in the tournament, and he also knows when to say a couple of things.
"Yeah, he said a couple of good things to me after the double bogey on 4, walking to the 5th tee, but we have a constant dialogue.
"We chat, we text every night and sort of where we are, what our game plan is the next day. He's been a big part of this.
"He's a good player. We've played together for so long. We've taken lessons from the same guy for 20 years.
"He knows my swing just as good as I do, so it's nice to have an extra pair of eyes there if I ever need it."
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