Rory McIlroy tells fan to ‘shut the f*** up’ during putting meltdown
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While he may have been sliding down the leaderboard on Sunday at the Genesis Invitational, Rory McIlroy wasn’t going to let some trash talk slide on the course from a fan.
As the Northern Irish golf star struggled with his putting during the final round at Torrey Pines, one fan in the crowd seemed to poke the bear – and got an instant response.
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According to golf insider Dan Rapaport, who hosts the Dan on Golf podcast, after McIlroy missed a putt on the third hole, a fan said to him “blame your caddie.”
Rory immediately responded with: “Shut the f*** up.”
The four-time major winner was quick to back his caddie for good reason: McIlroy and Harry Diamond are childhood friends and Diamond has been on his bag since 2017.
The fan’s taunt came after McIlroy had hit a 12-foot putt just past the hole on the right to miss out on a birdie.
It was a rough weekend on the greens for the Northern Irishman, who ranked last in the field in shots gained putting in the third round on Saturday and then was third from the bottom on Sunday.
McIlroy shot an even-par 72 in the final round to finish the tournament tied for 17th at 3-under. Ludvig Aberg sunk four birdies on the final six holes to really past Maverick McNealy for the win.
Diamond previously has come under fire for McIlroy’s failures after the partnership was dissected following the latter’s meltdown at the 2024 U.S. Open.
McIlroy missed two short putts in the final round that cost him his first major in a decade. His club choice on the par-3 15th, which led to McIlroy hitting it over the green and making a bogey, was also questioned by former PGA Tour pro Smylie Kaufman and longtime golf instructor Hank Haney.
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McIlroy came to Diamond’s defence, calling the treatment of Diamond “unfair.”
“You know, it’s certainly unfair. Hank Haney has never been in that position. Smylie has been in that position once, and I love Smylie, and he was out there with us on 18,” McIlroy said at the time, according to Golf Week.
“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 criticize when things don’t go my way, they never say anything good when things do go my way.
“So where were they when I won Dubai earlier this year or Quail Hollow or the two FedEx Cups that I’ve won with Harry or the two Ryder Cups or whatever? They are never there to say Harry did such a great job when I win, but they are always there to criticize when we don’t win.
“At the end of the day, they are not there. They are not the ones hitting the shots and making the decisions. Someone said to me once, you would never — if you would never take advice from these people, you would never take their criticisms, either. Certainly, wouldn’t go to Hank Haney for advice. I love Smylie, but I think I know what I’m doing, and so does Harry.”
Despite his struggles at Torrey Pines, McIlroy is off to a strong start to the season. In his previous outing, he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, beating Shane Lowry by two strokes to take home US$3.6 million.
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