Remember Rory heaping tons of praise upon his longtime caddie, JP Fitzgerald, for reminding him "who the **** he was" during the opening round of the British Open and kicking his ass in gear for a top-5 finish?

Well, according to ESPN - McIlroy has fired Fitzgerald and is now looking for a new looper on his bag.

Applications must be submitted NLT 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 4th.

Requirements:

  • must be physically capable of carrying 30 pounds for 6 hour durations, 2 days per week (possibly Saturday and Sunday as well)

  • must be able to do basic arithmetic

  • must have the financial means to travel all over the world at own expense

  • must be willing to forgo any/all potential interviews with the media

  • must be able to determine actual playing yardages to within 1-yard accuracy

  • must be able to read greens and predict where his player is going to hit the putt to account for the break

  • must be able to gauge wind

  • must be able to understand player's strengths and weaknesses daily, based on 2-hour range warmup session

  • must be willing to accept blame for player's poor putting/short game performance

  • must be willing to keep his personal opinions about his player's performance to himself without telling him

  • must be willing to tell player how great he is and how he's the best player at least 3 times per round during tournament play, despite that Nike has paid him $250 million and he no longer seems interested in golf

I guess it's just the in-thing now to axe the caddie. So if you're Bubba Watson's caddie, you better be paying close attention! This could be you before the end of the season.

http://www.espn.com/golf/story/_/id/20210203/rory-mcilroy-reportedly-splits-long-caddie-jp-fitzgerald

    Isn't Bubba"s caddie his best friend?
    Not gonna happen but I get your point.

    The issue I see is one is a pro's pro, and the other is a newly married rich kid lacking the intensity needed to win.

    It's always easier to place the blame on someone else, Rory needs to be a bit more introspective.

      Bigborgel

      Agreed.

      I've questioned Rory's commitment level for years, and although he can still win the occasional tournament against the Kevin Chappell's, Ryan Moore's and Gary Woodland's of the tour - his C game ain't gonna carry him in the more significant events.

      A lot of times it just doesn't seem like he's hungry. The generational money given to him via Nike hasn't helped.

      And money in general hasn't helped the product. I read an article yesterday about how Matt Kuchar has finally "accepted" his shortcomings in the British Open and is in the process of moving past it.

      You know what? Lee Trevino, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Watson, etc. didn't have time to dwell on disappointments, because they were too preoccupied trying to simply earn a living.

      We're definitely at a different time in pro golf, and there's a huge part of me that thinks the product back in the day was a lot more interesting than it is today. Those guys in the 60's and 70's, early part of the 80's were simply more hungry and needed to win. Player's today? They don't need to win.

      Hell, look at Charles Howell III.... hasn't won in like a decade? Yet has won nearly $34 million in the past 17 years. Good player, solid player, likable personality. Just not worried so much about winning versus earning a comfortable living.

      Had he been born 30 years earlier - he'd probably retired as an insurance salesman or a desk job somewhere.

      Not trying to be critical, but just pointing out what I see. Give a young guy $300 million in sponsorship money - don't expect that to motivate him to work harder on his game.

          He must also remind golfer to tamp down a spike mark after missing a short putt.

          PA-PLAYA

          Good observation. This is why I don't understand people who gave Tiger shit, or still give Tom Brady or other athletes shit for being angry about failing. "It's just a game!" Well, it's more than a game to guys with an insatiable drive to win.

          I loved that Tiger could be ahead by 30 shots and still be pissed about missing a green. In those moments he might as well have been playing alone. Likewise, Brady can be ahead by 43 and still be smacking himself in the helmet for missing a receiver.

          I don't know Roy, but the notion that he's thinking, "eh, win or lose I'm just fine," is plausible. That's the fear of giving someone big money for something like a 7-year deal in other sports, right? Complacency?

              Yes - complacency. It's disgusting as it's not too far removed from sloth... I agree!

              Yep...gets hard to make that full shoulder and hip turn with that heavy wallet tugging you down. See it in every sport, not just golf; although, you can hide the complacency a little easier in a team sport...I will never forget what Lee Trevino said once when asked about what made him never want to lose - he said that he never forgot how it felt when he had a $100 bet on a match and only had $10 in his wallet. Said he never forgot where he came from. A far cry from today's athlete.

                raggmann54 I will never forget what Lee Trevino said once when asked about what made him never want to lose - he said that he never forgot how it felt when he had a $100 bet on a match and only had $10 in his wallet. Said he never forgot where he came from. A far cry from today's athlete.

                I think that was from one of the TV Skins game. Lee made a short putt for $400k. The commentator asked him if he felt a lot of pressure. He said, "No. Pressure is when you are playing for $20 and you have $2 in your pocket."

                  ZWExton

                  For sure.

                  Part of it is that Rory wants to be his own guy. It seems evident that he doesn't enjoy being under the microscope, under the same degree of pressure as that of Tiger, Phil, Ernie, Vijay, etc.

                  And it also seems evident that when he is challenged to embrace that pressure and perform (via his caddie challenging him to play to a higher, pressurized level) he doesn't necessarily appreciate it, deep down.

                  I've said numerous times that perhaps we've seen Rory's best. And although he dug deep and managed a top-5 finish in the British - he ultimately resented his caddie feeling so emboldened to challenge him to channel more focus and perform at a higher level, especially when it became public knowledge of that exchange between the two of them.

                  A similar situation occurred with Spieth on Sunday between him and his caddie. Afterward, Spieth told Greller during the awards ceremony, "this is just as much your trophy as it is mine."

                  Huge mindset difference there imo.

                    6 days later

                    swmbo doesn't care for Mc Ilwatzi either. Says he is too full of himself . I'm less critical, as self confidence is important to this game, and wonder how any young man can properly handle tremendous fame & fortune so early in life. Spith currently is better at it and I'm hoping it doesn't ruin him as he seems well grounded, family and all. I'd like seeing his career finish like Jack Nicolas's not Like Tiger's .

                      Provisional

                      Agree, you Crimson Tider, you. 😉

                      It remains to be seen whether fame and fortune will impact the young Mr. Spieth in a negative fashion, but I will say - his career is currently "trending" more upwards than Rory's at the moment.

                      I like Rory, don't get me wrong. But Jordan's success thus far hasn't seemed to squelch his thirst for further success.

                      Greatness, these days especially, isn't defined by lucrative sponsor endorsements, but rather a longing to be considered one of the all-time best. To his credit, Jordan not only seems to value the loyalty of the guy on his bag, but even more so the value of where he is at this precise moment in his career.

                      Rory has (in my mind) some catching up to do. He has a great chance at a course that suits his game this week, but I would be surprised if he factors on Sunday, despite how illustrious and prodigious his driving distances are. I hope he proves me wrong... the entertainment value of these majors holds so much more intrigue when the so-called best are playing their best.

                      Which also reminds me... Dustin Johnson has been a huge letdown this year. There's as much pressure on him as there is Rory really. The hangover from his US Open victory last year at Oakmont cannot but help be noticed.

                      Then you consider Matsuyama and how he's been so consistently good over the past couple of years. This should be a compelling final major of the year. But as we have witnessed in years' past - this tournament in particular tends to favor no one in particular. The venue should favor the longer hitters, but guys like Zach Johnson and Charlie Hoffman, who are playing well coming into this week - it wouldn't surprise me if these guys flying under the media radar get it done.

                      Just hoping to see a highly contested tournament come Sunday, whoever wins.

                          PA-PLAYA Which also reminds me... Dustin Johnson has been a huge letdown this year. There's as much pressure on him as there is Rory really. The hangover from his US Open victory last year at Oakmont cannot but help be noticed.

                          Ummm, no.
                          He hasn't been the same since the Masters.
                          Before that, he was on fire, then started to slowly fall down the charts.
                          http://www.pgatour.com/players/player.30925.dustin-johnson.html

                              Spuzz

                              We're talking majors here, Spuzz. Had to miss the Masters, because apparently he can't chew gum and walk down a set of steps at the same time in flip-flops. Finished outside the top-10 in the Players, which is considered the unofficial 5th major of the season. Missed the cut at the US Open, despite the fairways being the widest of any US Open setup in recent memory, if ever. Finished outside the top-50 at the Open Championship.

                              I'll give you that he had a very promising season prior to the gum-chewing porch-step fiasco back in April, but he's had plenty of time to rebound from that.

                              Given his status just a year ago, after winning @ Oakmont, he has not particularly faired well in the biggest tournaments. And for the record, regardless of what the PGA Tour or their media minions suggest - the WGC events are not considered by most people to be nearly as prestigious as they were back when they first started.

                              We are talking limited fields and what have you. Strength-of-field in the non-WGC events matter more to me than the limited fields where guys aren't under the duress of having to make a weekend cut.

                              Just my opinion, of course. 🙂

                                  PA-PLAYA Just my opinion, of course

                                  of course and also welcomed
                                  🙂

                                  Glen Abbey has room to spray it a bit, so his 8th place finish was an anomaly, given his recent results.
                                  His driver is off, so maybe his back still hurts but he's playing through it?

                                      Spuzz

                                      Perhaps. Just seems he hit a wall after the Masters injury/WD. Was really wanting to see him put together another major-winning season to validate all that he accomplished last year and earlier this year, as he was definitely trending in a great direction.

                                      I'm sure no one is more disappointed in his erratic play this summer than he is. He does have another opportunity this week however. Would like to see him in contention this weekend.