Rory McIlroy is one of the most iconic golfers in the sport’s history and his achievements have also financially benefitted his close friend and caddie Harry Diamond
Patrick Austen-Hardy Senior Sports Journalist
16:21, 23 Jul 2025
Rory McIlroy and Harry Diamond’s friendship is well known in golf(Image: Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy’s childhood friend and long-term caddie Harry Diamond has been next to him through the highest highs and the lowest lows.
Diamond, 41, was the first person to embrace McIlroy after the world No. 2 won the Masters to complete the Grand Slam and end his painful 11-year drought without a major. The pair grew up together in Holywood, first meeting each other on the crisp putting greens of the area’s golf club.
While Diamond is not a pro player himself, he has earned more money than many of the sport’s finest players in recent years. This year alone, it’s estimated that McIlroy’s right-hand man has earned around £1.2million.
This is taking into account McIlroy’s winnings of roughly £12.2m. Typically, a caddie is paid approximately 10% of whatever their player’s prize is.
Diamond’s estimated 2025 pay is higher than that of two former Masters winners in Zach Johnson and Danny Willett, who have both earned around £651,000 and £397,000 this year, respectively. However, it is also possible that Diamond is paid a weekly salary which is boosted by a bonus of around 7-10 per cent on top of his wage.
Of course, only Diamond and McIlroy can confirm or deny the terms of their engagement, but the above is considered the sport’s norm. What is for certain is that McIlroy would feel very strange if he ever took to a major without his friend.
The five-time major champ expressed his gratefulness to Diamond after he won the Masters. In his post-major interview at Augusta, McIlroy referred to a simple but effective comment his ally made during the play-off hole.
Major winners such as Zach Johnson have been left in the dust by Diamond’s predicted earnings(Image: Getty Images)
At the time, McIlroy was forced to face Justin Rose in one more hole, moments after missing the Masters winning putt on the 18th. Setting the scene, McIlroy said: “After scoring, Harry and I were walking to the golf cart to bring us back to the 18th tee.
“He said to me, ‘Well, pal, we would have taken this on Monday morning.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, absolutely we would have.’ That was an easy reset.
“He basically said to me, ‘Look, you would have given your right arm to be in a playoff at the start of the week.’ So that sort of reframed it a little bit for me.”
Diamond was the first person to embrace McIlroy after his Masters triumph(Image: 2025 Getty Images)
When McIlroy was in his moment of catharsis, one of the first people he thanked was Diamond. He said: “I’ve known Harry since I was seven years old.
“I met him on the putting green at Holywood Golf Club. We’ve had so many good times together. He’s been like a big brother to me the whole way through my life.
“To be able to share this with him after all the close calls that we’ve had, all the c**p that he’s had to take from people that don’t know anything about the game, yeah, this one is just as much his as it is mine. He’s a massive part of what I do, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to share it with than him.”
