According to an early morning report by Reuters, Rory Mcllroy has parted ways with longtime caddie J.P. Fitzgerald.
While neither Mcllroy, or his management team, have commented on the matter, reports indicate that the separation will be officially confirmed later this week when Rory arrives at Firestone.
Rory and Fitzgerald were together for nine years. Fitzgerald took Rory’s bag shortly after he turned professional in 2008, and was on the bag for all four of his majors, as well as his ascent to #1 in the world.
“He has taken me from 200 in the world to major champion,” McIlroy said of Fitzgerald in 2011.
This news comes just a few weeks after Phil Mickelson and Jim “Bones” Mackay announced their split after 25 years. It also comes just two weeks after Rory came out and publicly thanked J.P. for helping him get his round turned around in the first round at the Open Championship. After a rough opening stretch, Fitzgerald told McIlroy: “You’re Rory McIlroy. What the f— are you doing?”
“He’s had to do it a few times, and he’s never afraid to do that,” McIlroy told reporters after that opening round. “I feel today it helped a lot more than at other times because I needed something. It wasn’t that I couldn’t look within myself; I was trying to look within myself. But J.P. kept me positive out there, so that was very much appreciated.”
Rory will debut his new caddie this week at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
