Rory McIlroy warned of 'huge, huge mistake' as golfer faces sacking pressure

Former PGA Tour pro Smylie Kaufman has pointed the finger at Rory McIlroy's caddie, Harry Diamond, for a blunder just as detrimental as McIlroy's late-game meltdown at the US Open . As McIlroy gets ready to swing back into action at the Scottish Open next week, the sting from his Pinehurst No.2 debacle is likely still fresh.

The 35-year-old was on the verge of snapping a ten-year drought for a fifth major when he botched two short putts near the endmissing from 2ft 6in on the 70th hole and 3ft 9in on the 72nd.

This slip-up left him one stroke behind, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to snatch the US Open crown and sparking a relentless post-mortem on what went awry.

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With McIlroy set to defend his Scottish Open title at the Renaissance Club before teeing off at the Open at Royal Troon, Kaufman has cast his thoughts back to that fateful final round.

Rather than dwelling on those missed putts, the NBC commentator highlighted a flubbed shot on the par-3 15th hole as another critical moment in McIlroy's downfall.

McIlroy overshot the green, fluffed the challenging chip to about 30ft, and then failed to sink the putt, igniting the disastrous end to his campaign.

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Diamond has come under fire for supposedly advising the wrong club choice, adding fuel to the ongoing debate over his effectiveness in steering McIlroy to victory sentiment echoed by DP World Tour's Eddie Pepperell.

On GOLF's Subpar podcast, Kaufman remarked: "I felt like [caddie] Harry Diamond really should have stepped in on the 15th hole.

"He did not have the right club in his hands. And I felt like Rory could have taken control of the championship on 15 if he just hit it in the middle of the green.

"And he hit a good shot. But it just was the wrong club. And never, never was a 7-iron for Rory, especially with a right flag.

"If the wind was down off the right, it's not exactly a flag and a wind condition and the heat to be able to land it in a hula hoop, where you got to hit this kind of soft, spinny, fade 7-iron.

"It was an 8-iron all day. Hit it in the middle of the green. I would say that was a huge, huge mistake. I don't really ever see Harry stepping in a ton.

"Rory always, if he has a question, he'll ask, but for the most part, Rory kind of goes and does his thing, and he's got a lot of feel.

"In my head, as a player, when you execute a shot exactly how you're supposed to, and it ends up in a terrible spot, you have to look at, all right, what happened here. Because that's what happened at the 15th hole."

McIlroy met Diamond at Holywood Golf Club in his hometown and named him his new caddie in 2017, replacing J. P. Fitzgerald.

Diamond's predecessor was alongside McIlroy for all four of his majors before the pair split.