Rory McIlroy completed the career grand slam in 2025 and has opened up on the Christmas present he received from his caddie
Rory McIlroy has revealed the early Christmas present he received from his caddie, Harry Diamond. McIlroy is currently enjoying a break after a year that saw him forever etch his name into golfing history.
The Northern Irishman became only the sixth player in men’s golf history to win the grand slam with his victory at the Masters back in April.
McIlroy then followed that up by being part of Team Europe that won the Ryder Cup on US soil later in the year.
The most recent tournament that McIlroy took part in was the Australian Open, where he finished on seven-under-par and tied 14th at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in his final event of 2025. This was eight shots adrift of winner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who finished 15-under-par.
With the 2025 season now completed, McIlroy has taken the opportunity to reflect on a year which saw him enter the golfing history books.
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The 36-year-old revealed that he received a gift from his caddie, which referenced his historic achievement.
“Harry [Diamond] gave this to me sort of as an early Christmas present in Australia last week, and it’s the first time that anyone has really seen it,” McIlroy said on The Shotgun Start podcast by Fried Egg Golf.
McIlroy then went on to hold up an Augusta National card that was framed and featured four signatures.
The signatures included those of the other five grand slam winners – Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
McIlroy continued: “He [Diamond] brought me this with a Sharpie and said, ‘Do you want to sign it?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely not’.
“I just said I hope I don’t have to get Scottie [Scheffler] to sign it next year,” McIlroy joked.
Scheffler himself has four majors to his name and has already won the Masters, PGA Championship and The Open. A victory at the US Open next year at Shinnecock Hills would see Scheffler join McIlroy in the grand slam winners’ list.
The grand slam and the Ryder Cup were not the only success stories of McIlroy’s year. He also won a seventh Race to Dubai title of his career to go past the six achieved by Seve Ballesteros and move to one behind Colin Montgomerie, who holds the record for eight season-long titles.
With McIlroy achieving success this year, Diamond may also have been in line to receive some of the prize money.
As Golf Monthly states, caddies could receive anywhere from five to 10 percent of the total prize money if their player wins a tournament.
The report claims that, in line with McIlroy’s total earnings for the year, Diamond could have received $1.67million (£1.24m) in bonuses depending on what portion of the Master champion’s earnings was handed to the caddie.
McIlroy’s first tournament of 2026 could arrive in less than a month, when the PGA Tour season gets underway in Hawaii. The Sony Open will take place at Waialae Country Club from January 15-18, which could give McIlroy the opportunity to begin his year in style with a victory.
