Hank Haney sarcastically harked back to Rory McIlroy’s response to his criticism of caddie Harry Diamond as he commented on the recent change in the Northern Irishman’s swing
Tiger Woods’ former coach Hank Haney has aimed a thinly-veiled dig at Rory McIlroy following their disagreement about his caddie Harry Diamond.
Haney, 69, was among those who criticised Diamond for his role in McIlroy’s collapse at the US Open in June. There was a popular school of thought that his club selection on the 15th of the final round was incorrect.
McIlroy subsequently bogeyed three of the last four holes, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to claim a comeback victory by one shot. He later dismissed the suggestions of Diamond being partly to blame.
Fast forward nearly five months and Haney, who worked as an instructor for Woods between 2004 and 2010, appears to have reignited their feud. He took to X to respond to a video about McIlroy’s changing swing, writing: “On the right track but what do I know.”
The quip at the end of his post looks to be a sarcastic response to McIlroy shooting down his comments about Diamond ahead of The Open in July. He argued that Haney had no right to comment, unlike NBC Sports analyst Smylie Kaufman who also called out his caddie.
“Hank Haney has never been in that position,” the Northern Irishman said at Royal Troon. “Smylie has been in that position once, and I love Smylie, and he was out there with us on 18.
“But just because Harry is not as vocal or loud with his words as other caddies, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t say anything and that he doesn’t do anything. I just wish that, you know, these guys that criticise when things don’t go my way, they never say anything good when things do go my way.”
Haney, who coached Woods for nearly six years, criticised McIlroy’s caddie Harry Diamond ( Image: Getty Images)
Haney had argued that a more experienced caddie than Diamond, who’s close friends with McIlroy and has worked alongside him since 2017, wouldn’t have let him make the mistakes he did. But he has since cooled somewhat on his position.
Responding to a fan in August, Haney insisted that he doesn’t think McIlroy needs to change caddies at all, admitting that it wasn’t a personal fault of Diamond’s but rather an error that anyone could’ve made under such huge pressure.
“No, I think his caddie is great for him,” Haney said on X. “I never said he wasn’t great for Rory, I said they made a mistake on #15 at the US Open. I actually am actually a big fan of friend caddies, anyone can make a mistake.”
