Rory McIlroy has fired his long-serving caddie JP Fitzgerald, according to reports.
It has been suggested that McIlroy will have a new caddie on the bag for this week's WGC Bridgestone Invitational. The McIlroy camp has yet to comment.
Fitzgerald had been with McIlroy for nine years and was by his side for all four of his major wins and his rise to world No 1. As recently as last week's Open Championship, in which McIlroy rallied from nearly missing the cut to finish in a share of fourth, the player credited Fitzgerald for helping him turn his week around. When McIlroy was struggling on Friday, Fitzgerald resorted to blunt talk to help kick him into gear.
"He reminded me who I was, basically," said McIlroy, who shot four under on the back nine for a one-over-par 71. "He said, 'You're Rory McIlroy, what the **** are you doing?"
The parting would be the second notable dissolution of a player-caddie pairing this summer. Last month, Phil Mickelson and longtime caddie Jim 'Bones' Mackay jointly announced they were splitting after more than two decades together.
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