Justin Thomas will have a new caddie next week at the Masters.
He announced Wednesday on social media he was splitting with Jim “Bones” Mackay, calling the decision “incredibly difficult for me to say.” Mackay joined Thomas’ bag in late 2021, and the duo won the 2022 PGA Championship together.
Mackay was the longtime looper for Phil Mickelson before the duo split in 2017. Then, Mackay went to work full-time for NBC Sports and Golf Channel doing commentary. He was the fill-in lead analyst for NBC during the PGA Tour stop in Mexico. At the time, he said he wasn’t interested in the full-time job, replacing Paul Azinger.
“I’m going to be forever thankful for him joining me on the bag in 2021,” Thomas wrote in a post on social media. “His wisdom on and off the course has been a blessing during a tough stretch of my career and he was there every step of the way.”
— Justin Thomas (@JustinThomas34) April 3, 2024
As for who will take over for Thomas full-time, the two-time major champion, we won’t have to wait long to find out. He’s in the field next week for the first men’s major championship of the year, the Masters.
Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported it will be Matt Minister on the bag for Thomas at Augusta National. Minister caddied for Patrick Cantlay when he won the 2021 Tour Championship.
Thomas worked with Jimmy Johnson since Thomas started out as a rookie in 2015 before Mackay took over the bag. Mackay caddied for Thomas when he won the 2020 WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational before he was full-time on Thomas’ bag.