Rory McIlroy's maligned caddie, Harry Diamond, is laughing all the way to the bank after enjoying a lucrative start to the season. McIlroy’s faith in his long-term friend and bagman has been questioned in some quarters since they started working together in 2017. Many observers have called for McIlroy to dispense with Diamond as he looks to add a long-awaited fifth major to his collection, with his last coming away back in 2014. Question marks over the Northern Irishman’s choice of caddie re-emerged recently after one of the most respected bagmen in golf, Billy Foster, split from Matt Fitzpatrick. However, McIlroy’s form this year, which has already seen him win the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship, suggests he is right to stick with Diamond, whose 2025 earnings so far make impressive reading. According to Golf Monthly, he may have pocketed as much as £672,000 since the start of the year. This sum is said to be more than what some big-name players, including Wyndham Clark, Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim, have made in 2025 to date. McIlroy’s biggest payday so far this year came the Players, where he scooped almost £3.5m. Despite that, former PGA Tour player Nick O'Hern is among those to suggest McIlroy should cue ties with Diamond and join forces with Foster, 61. The Australian said on the Talk Birdie To Me podcast: "Now, Harry, who caddies for Rory and, as we know, is one of his best mates and he does a very good job. “However, in those crucial clutch moments, that's when you need someone who's got the experience, who's got the answer for the game, the feel that can sense it." Pointing to McIlroy’s late meltdown at last year’s US Open, O’Hern added: "A great caddie there would have said, 'No, Rory, you aren't hitting this club [at the par three 15th]. “We are gonna put you at the front of this green and you are gonna have a long putt but it will be uphill and I am backing you from the two-putt there'. Billy Foster is the kind of guy who would've said, 'Rory, we're not doing this. We're gonna do this right here.'" However, Foster has jumped to the defence of Diamond, calling criticism of his fellow caddie “not fair at all”. He told Prime Casino: “He has just won two signature events and The Players’ Championship in four starts and they’re still on his back. "Give the lad a break. He’s a very good caddie. Harry, don't read the s****, as simple. Because it is s****. Somebody's opinion that is not educated, I think it's wrong. I'd leave Harry alone. Rory's playing better than anybody this year and they're still giving the caddy flack. It's out of order."