Rory McIlroy praises caddie Harry Diamond after Wells Fargo win at Quail Hollow

Harry Diamond has been Rory McIlroy's caddie since August 2016 but they have been friends since childhood

There was something strikingly unfamiliar for those watching Rory McIlroy weigh up his second shot to the 72nd green on his way to victory at Quail Hollow.

It was a rare occasion when we were able to hear him in conversation with caddie Harry Diamond. Many players allow microphones close enough to eavesdrop on discussions with their bagman, but McIlroy is not usually one of them.

When they converse it is usually quiet words, heard only by the two of them. They do not go for those overt and fascinating chats we regularly hear from the likes of Jordan Spieth and his caddie Michael Greller.

Perhaps this is why the myth grew that Diamond is nothing more than Rory's mate carrying his bag. Maybe this is why, throughout McIlroy's 19-month barren winless streak, so many armchair critics advocated he should get "a proper caddie".

Thankfully, on this occasion we could hear Diamond's intervention as McIlroy considered chopping out of a horrible lie on the bank of the stream that runs down the left of Quail Hollow's closing hole.

It showed just how misguided those critics have been.

Caddies do a lot more than carrying the bag, keeping up and shutting up. Diamond is a fine amateur player in his own right, he knows the game and he knows his boss - he is more than qualified for his job.

He also proved last Sunday that he possesses a cool head under the most intense pressure. Imagine if things had gone wrong and McIlroy had fired into the opposite bank, as Diamond had feared, and blew the tournament.

This would have been a potentially ruinous capitulation. The former world number one with a first win since November 2019 at his mercy, messing it up on the final hole, when he had a two-shot lead on the tee.

Diamond knew he must get his man over the line and he stepped in with key advice to find a different way out of trouble.

It was his suggestion that his Northern Irish compatriot take a penalty drop. Between them they worked out the best way to find the sanctuary of the home green in the minimum number of strokes.

And it laid a platform for McIlroy to demonstrate his extraordinary golfing talent. He hit from a still awkward lie with the ball so far below his feet his hands were hanging by his knees at address.

Yet he found a wonderful strike and two composed putts enabled the former world number one to sign for a bogey five and a one-shot triumph which is one of the most significant wins of his career.

"Harry was awesome out there, especially that decision on the last," McIlroy said.

"This is Harry and I's sixth win together and it's probably been our best one. Bay Hill back in 2018 was great because I hadn't won in a while, but this is even better just because Harry's been there every step of the way.

"The sort of tough parts that I've sort of had to endure over the last few months, he's been with me every step of the way and it's nice to come through all that with him and to get into the winner's circle again."

McIlroy also revealed he has been working with renowned mind guru Dr Bob Rotella and this was his first win since teaming up with swing coach Pete Cowen before last month's Masters.

They worked together on the weekend before the Wells Fargo Championship, which McIlroy has now won for a third time. He is understandably pleased that such a positive result has come so quickly.

"This is the first real test that I've had since working with Pete and sort of doing some different stuff," the 32-year-old champion said.

"And for it to pretty much hold together all afternoon, first time of asking, I'm excited about that."

McIlroy remains keen to include his career-long coach Michael Bannon when he lists those in his team deserving plaudits. It is also intriguing that the player is ready to admit that someone such as Rotella can provide assistance.

Cowen has told McIlroy that Dr Bob's advice would be of little use unless the English swing coach does his own job properly and this is undoubtedly a promising start to their relationship.

"Needing to hit good shots down the stretch, I had a couple of very playable swing thoughts that I've had all week," McIlroy, who is now back up to number seven in the world, explained.

"Obviously I wasn't expecting to come and win first week straight out again. It's satisfying to see the work is paying off, but it's just the start.

"There's so much more I want to achieve and so much more I want to do in the game……it's nice validation that I'm on the right track."

Inevitably the odds have shortened on McIlroy winning a fifth major next week at the US PGA Championship, which is being staged on the Kiawah Island course where he won the same title for the first time in 2012, by eight shots.

It would be premature, though, to say that he is ready to collect majors again. He will take winning form back to Kiawah, but that is something he has done at many a recent major without translating it into a tilt for a career-defining trophy.

McIlroy's last success in one of the big four was back in 2014 and a decent chunk of this most recent and 19th PGA Tour win, was down to the surrounds.

Quail Hollow is a favourite hunting ground. It yielded his first American victory and, as he proved throughout last week, it is still somewhere that he can see putting lines with the utmost clarity.

This triumph should inject much needed confidence. He is no longer the haunted figure who missed cuts at the Players Championship and Masters and failed to make the knockout stages of the WGC Matchplay in between those recent huge events.

McIlroy has shown before that he can go on sustained runs of success, when wins trigger a flow of positivity, but he is a more measured, mature figure these days and he knows he cannot take anything for granted.

"Hopefully history repeats itself and I can get a lot of confidence from this and go forward," he said. "But I'm just happy that I can hit the golf shots that I need to under pressure."

He also knows that in such circumstances, the advice he receives from his right hand man will be spot on. To be fair, McIlroy has always been aware of that - his caddie critics rather less so.