This week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai will be Rory McIlroy’s 25th and last start of the year, but it will be the first for his new caddie. And the last.
The Forecaddie hears McIlroy’s bag will be toted in the European Tour’s season finale by his pal Niall O’Connor. But the gig is a one-off assignment for O’Connor, who will head back to his regular job in private equity in New York City next week.
McIlroy’s regular bagman, Harry Diamond, is taking time at home in Belfast to enjoy fatherhood. Diamond’s wife, Claire, gave birth to their first child, Georgia Iris, on Nov. 11. Mom, dad and baby are all doing well, The Man Out Front is assured.
O’Connor is no stranger to the sporting limelight. The 32-year-old from Northern Ireland is a former international rugby player. Nor is this his first experience carrying for a McIlroy: he caddied for Rory’s dad, Gerry, at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2018.
Diamond will be back on the bag when McIlroy kicks off his 2020 campaign, with his expected first start at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines.
