Rory McIlroy turned a few heads with his decision to part with his friend and long time caddie JP Fitzgerald after a run of inconsistent results with some unusually poor performances over the course of this season.
It is believed that McIlroy will be calling upon his close friend - the best man at his wedding - Harry Diamond, to caddie at the upcoming WGC-Bridgestone Invitational this weekend.
McIlroy previously won twice at Quail Hollow and holds the course record, so the decision to drop Fitzgerald before playing on a course where they enjoyed good success in the past was an odd one, but ultimately it had to be made as their friendship was becoming strained.
Speaking to the media ahead of this weekend's event [via Independent.ie], McIlroy admitted that he was being quite tough on JP on the course and that in order to remain friends, it was best to part ways.
It's a big change. JP has been a huge part of my life for the last decade. We started in July 2008 and went all the way to July this year.
(We had) a lot of great times on and off the golf course and I still consider JP one of my best friends, one of my closest friends, but sometimes, to preserve a personal relationship you might have to sacrifice a professional one and that's sort of the decision I came to in the end.
I was getting very hard on him on the golf course.
An honest admission from Rory, and it suggests that having Diamond caddie for him is a short term solution as he is unlikely to want hamper that relationship as well.
McIlroy came under criticism for missing the cut at the Dubai Duty-Free Irish Open, the Scottish Open, and the US Open in recent times as it was clear that something was off with his game, so it will be interesting to see how he gets on in the coming months.
A fresh start might make all the difference.
