Caddies at the Masters are decked out what is described as the “tuxedo of all caddie uniforms.”
Caddies are as much a part of the tradition at the Masters as the pink azaleas, pimento cheese sandwiches and the green jacket.
Did you know that for 46 years Augusta National Golf Club provided Masters participants with a caddie?
In 1982, Craig Stadler won the tournament with Ben Bussey on the bag. Little did anyone know at the time that would mark the end of an era, as seven months later, on Nov. 12, 1982, the club announced that professional golfers would be allowed to bring own caddies.
The loopers at Augusta are easy to spot. They are decked out what the official Masters.com website describes as the “tuxedo of all caddie uniforms”:
A bright white, long-sleeved jumpsuit, with the green-outlined Masters logo on the right breast pocket, the caddie number on the left breast pocket and the player name on back – all Velcroed to the white fabric – topped by a green ball cap.
Check out some photos of the caddies at the Masters Tournament.
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Here’s how the pros choose who is going to be on their bag.
Who would be willing to don an Augusta National white jumpsuit and caddie at the Masters Par 3 Contest?
Or perhaps the better question would be who wouldn’t be willing to do so? It’s become a family affair on the Wednesday before the Masters, the calm before the storm, with wives and girlfriends, children and grandchildren among those serving as caddies.
If the site of toddlers in their miniature jumpsuits tending a flagstick doesn’t bring a smile to your face, well, we simply can’t be friends.
Through the years, celebrities such as tennis stars Chris Evert, Caroline Wozniacki and Andy Roddick, NFL QB Matt Ryan, musician Niall Horan and NBA Hall of Famer David Robinson have been among those toting bags.
The Par 3 Contest, which is scheduled for April 5, dates back to 1960 when Sam Snead claimed the title. This year, contestants will play a new version of the club’s short course, which received a makeover. The exhibition starts at noon. Live streaming video coverage will be available on Masters.com at 2 p.m. ET.
Here’s how the pros choose who is going to be on their bag.
A cyclone disrupted nearly 600 flights, including the flight Williams was scheduled to take.
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – Adam Scott and caddie Steve Williams are scheduled to resume their partnership this week on the PGA Tour at the Genesis Invitational, but Mother Nature has had other plans.
Williams, who lives in New Zealand, was still en route from his home in Auckland after Cyclone Gabrielle hammered the country’s North Island. When asked if Williams had made it to the Golden State yet during his 2 p.m. PT news conference Wednesday, Scott said, “Not yet, A couple hours out still.”
The cyclone disrupted nearly 600 flights, including the flight Williams was scheduled to take. Government officials in New Zealand declared a state of emergency after what reportedly was one of the worst storms in years. Scott used Liam Bedor, the head of operations for L.A.B. Putters, as a fill-in caddie during Wednesday’s pro-am.
Williams, who was on the bag for 13 of the 15 majors won by Tiger Woods, worked for Scott from 2011 until 2017, including when Scott won the 2013 Masters and reached No. 1 in the world. Scott said they had remained friends and in communication and had a conversation about reuniting at the end of last season. They worked two events together in Australia in December.
“We slipped back into the rhythm really quickly and we had a good couple weeks and I expect that to happen out here as well,” Scott said. “Having him come out fresh at this point, it’s just funny how at different times in your life, he’s now hit a point where his kid’s grown up and probably doesn’t want to hang with Dad quite as much and he’s itching to get back out here, as much as he’d hate to admit it, it’s in his blood to be out here and caddie and he loves it, and I’m pleased that we’re going to have the opportunity to do a bit more together.”
Scott’s plan is for Williams and Greg Hearmon to share caddie duties.
“[Stevie’s] a pretty intense guy. Whether he was working for me or working for any other pro, whether he’s competing at driving his race car or whether he’s raking the leaves off his lawn at home, he’s an intense character once he gets his mind on something,” Scott said. “There’s no changing that personality. He’s out here to achieve. I think that can be a really good influence on me.”
Scott said he’s eyeing the next three years as a window where he can add at least another major to his resume, and no caddie has been more successful in the majors than Williams.
“I thought about it long and hard. Given where my life is overall, a full season of Steve could be too intense and not productive but a bit of Steve and a bit of Greg could really complement me,” he said. “The next three years unless I have some injury pop up, I’m in good shape to contend. I see everything settling into place where I can be a top 10 player in the world and therefore a legitimate contender.”
Scott last competed at the Sony Hawaiian Open in January, where he finished T-29. Scott won the Genesis Invitational in 2020 and 2005 and finished T-4 last year. He has a 69.54 career scoring average in 52 rounds at Riviera.
Scott’s tee time for Thursday’s first round is 10:35 a.m. ET (7:35 a.m. local time). He’s hopeful that Williams will be by his side.
Workman’s passing came just three weeks after caddying a second-place finish in Hawaii.
Sam Workman, caddie for PGA Tour Champions golfer Steven Alker, died Monday less than three weeks removed from caddying a second-place finish in Hawaii to open the 2023 season.
Workman passed away Monday at his home in Beeville, Texas, about 100 miles south of San Antonio, from cancer, a “sudden passing” according to Alker in a post on Instagram.
The following is a submission from John Rathouz, a fellow caddie and good friend of Workman:
Somewhere in heaven, Sam Workman is grilling barbeque pork tenderloin on the tailgate of his pickup truck. At least that’s what I like to think our friend is up to now.
It was one of his favorite things to do, something he’d done hundreds of times in his life, and I was fortunate enough to experience it, in all its glory, one spring evening in the parking lot of a Best Western in Greenville, South Carolina.
Sam Workman, far right, works the grill on the back of his truck.
It was truly one of the most fun, best-tasting meals I’ve had in all of my years caddying. It was simple. It was life on the road. As Sam and I reminisced on a podcast last October, he said he enjoyed it because it was a chance to “hang out with your friends… cook it slow and have a couple of dirty waters and raise hell with your partnas.”
He’ll always remain as “Sam BBQ Workman” in my phone contacts.
Perhaps Sam is grilling for fellow Texans, fellow caddies, fellow professionals Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan. Always humble, maybe he’ll sprinkle in a story here or there about the spectacular run he’d just been on over the last 18 months as the looper for Steven Alker on the PGA Tour Champions: five tournament wins and the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup Champion and Player of the Year.
It’s likely my favorite streak of “flag collecting” by a caddie friend ever. A little over two weeks ago, Steven and Sam picked right up where they left off, finishing second to start the season in Hawaii.
However, as I came to find out since then, Sam wasn’t feeling well in Hawaii and hadn’t been, on and off, since the holiday season, when caddies finally get out from under the strap. So it was that he returned home from paradise to find out that he had cancer. Devastating.
When I spoke with Sam that Friday, Jan. 27, he sounded weak, nearly out of breath, but his unique South Texas drawl was still punching through the phone. Our conversation was only five minutes, and I briefly tried to chip away at his disappointment that he wouldn’t be able to caddie again this year. I made a note to check on him again the next Friday, Feb. 3.
But as his friend and pro, Alker, so eloquently wrote to the golf world last Friday, Sam had received an even-worse “terminal” diagnosis in the meantime. Heartbreaking. This past Sunday, I walked to our neighborhood church and lit a few candles for Sam. Barely knowing what to do, I reached for a random prayer card nearby and proceeded to read the “Daily Prayer to St. Joseph, the Worker.” Damn, this is fitting I thought. Sam WORK-MAN.
It read, in part, “…to work with thankfulness and joy, deeming it an honor to employ and to develop, by my labor, the gifts I have received…” Religious or not, I think Sam’s friends and family would all agree, that passage described Sam the man, and the caddie.
An hour earlier, I had been added to a text chain from Sam’s sister, Michele. I recognized most of the names, some were “blasts from the past” and some of the numbers I didn’t have. I assumed they were mostly caddies, and the outpouring of support to Sam and Michele was palpable, full of love and respect.
At one point, Michele posted a picture of a Houston Astros jersey that Ken Duke, ever the gentleman, had sent to Sam’s house. “Workman”, with the number “1”, it read. Sam was a huge Astros fan and so it seems fitting that they won the World Series in the same year that Team Alker did, too. In fact, earlier last year, Sam also unscrewed the flag in Houston. That was Alker’s third victory on Tour and the middle of a five tournament stretch that went win, second, win, third, win, culminating with the Senior PGA Championship. Of the PGA, Sam told me it was the best golf he’d ever seen Alker play, but the win in Houston was his favorite moment of the year.
There were only two hats I remember seeing Sam wear in all the years I knew him, going back to when he left his job as a club pro at some friends’ course in his hometown of Beeville after receiving a call from Brad Elder to caddie in a Monday qualifier in San Antonio. Sam was on Elder’s bag for many years after that and Elder recalled that those were some of his favorite years a professional, driving around the Tour in Sam’s truck. It’s likely Sam was wearing his Astros hat. Now, for more on his “other” hat.
Steven Alker and caddie Sam Workman on the ninth hole during the first round of the 2022 Charles Schwab Cup at Phoenix Country Club. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic)
On last Monday morning, just in case Sam was up for it, I texted Michele to let her know that the final round of the weather-delayed PGA Tour tournament would be on live from Pebble Beach. As I watched the coverage, I thought of him from time to time, mostly as the broadcast showcased the trademark powerful white waves crashing the jagged shoreline. It was a picturesque winter morning at one of the most spiritual golf courses Mother Nature has created. An hour before the final putt dropped, Michele texted back “I so wish he could,” but that Sam hadn’t been very responsive or even able to open his eyes. I sent back one more text of support and reminded her that I’d always picture Sam in his huge cowboy hat that was 49 percent Mexican sombrero.
She immediately texted back, “The dreaded hat is next to the bed!” That hat was so good. “Over 30 years old,” Sam proudly noted. When he and Steven first made it out on their new Tour, I had heard a story that Ernie Els took a liking to his hat. Sam recalled that Els told him, “That is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen out on the Tour. Man, I like it.” If the “Big Easy” says your hat is cool, it’s certain. Recently, Sam had mentioned that the middle of his hat was beginning to cave in and both he and Steven were thinking it might be time for a new one.
Later that evening, Michele relayed the message that we all knew was coming. Sam had peacefully passed away that afternoon. She said, “Mom and I were holding his hand to the end. He loved all of you.” On numerous occasions over the years, I recall Sam talking about how he was “going to visit my mom in Beeville.” And while a mother should never have to be in that position with her child, I took comfort in Michele’s message and was glad they were all together.
It all happened so fast. I’ve learned that there’s more to life than caddying, but the caddie in me is glad that Sam will always be partly remembered as Alker’s trusty sidekick as he motored his way to the top of the sport. When I had Steven on the podcast in October of 2021 after a hot start, and two weeks before his first win out there, he said, “Sammy’s been great. He’s been a trooper. … he’s a good guy. He’s so even-keeled on the golf course. He does good work.”
That’s the exact praise any caddie would hope to hear from their pro and I’m certain their trust in each other and confidence together only grew stronger in the following year.
The last time I saw Sam was in Omaha, Nebraska, my hometown, in August of 2021. We crossed paths at the end of that week, on a familiar road, heading in opposite directions like often happens on Tour. It was the final regular season tournament on the Korn Ferry Tour and Alker had just missed the cut, signifying the end of his season – of his career – out there. I asked Sam what his plans were, knowing full well that he had been looking forward to Alker turning 50 and being eligible for the PGA Tour Champions, after competing with Sam by his side, against younger competition for the previous three years. He told me that Steven was entered in the following week’s qualifier in Seattle. They were going to do some qualifiers that fall and get ready for Tour School at the end of the year. After practicing over the weekend, Alker told Sam not to bother flying out and that he’d let him know if he got in. Unbeknownst to Steven, and as Sam relayed to me on the podcast, he booked a ticket to Seattle for the following week ahead of time. On Tuesday, when Alker called to tell Sam that he got in, Sam said, “I’ve already got a ticket. I’ll see you tonight.” And off they went, finishing seventh together in his first event. It was the only time Alker ever had to qualify on the Champions tour.
Those of us who were lucky enough to know Sam were better for it. He was “salt of the earth”, as people like to say. I want to give a shoutout to my friend and fellow caddie, Kelly Miller, who does an admirable job of staying in touch with all his friends from the Tour from his home in San Diego. He and Sam stayed in close contact over the years, even before Alker started his spectacular run, so it was fun for us to all text back and forth as we witnessed their history and I became closer to Sam because of him. My heart goes out to his family and all of his friends, particular my caddie brethren. While his funeral is set for next Monday, February 13th, his life will be recognized and celebrated on Tours everywhere in the coming weeks and months.
At the end of our podcast, I asked Sam what was the best city to visit in Texas. He said New Braunfels, which I had never heard of before, but he described as a hidden gem of relaxed, hill-country nightlife. So next month, the PGA Tour will be in San Antonio, where Sam’s sister recently built a house in nearby… New Braunfels. And in late April, the PGA Tour Champions will roll into Houston where Alker will be the defending champion and I’m sure if will be a moment of pause for reflection, camaraderie, and toasts in his honor.
But rest assured, Sam will have the barbeque waiting for all of us one day.
Ko ended 2022 with a victory tour championship, was player of the year and rose to world No. 1.
Lydia Ko will start 2023 with a new caddie.
After ending 2022 with a victory at the CME Group Tour Championship, rising to World No. 1 and claiming the Rolex Player of the Year award and Vare Trophy for low scoring average, Ko rather shockingly decided it was time for a change.
The 25-year-old Kiwi will begin her 2023 season next week at the Aramco Saudi Ladies International with David Jones on her bag, Ko’s sister and manager Sura confirmed to Golfweek. The pair previously worked together at the 2021 Lotte Championship, where Ko snapped a 1,084-day drought with a seven-stroke victory.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand’s caddie, Derek Kistler, celebrates on the 18th green after winning the CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon Golf Club on November 20, 2022 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Jones, who most recently caddied for Nick Taylor on the PGA Tour, was on the bag for In Gee Chun when she won the 2016 Evian Championship and for Sung Hyun Park’s two major titles at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open and 2018 KPMG Women’s PGA.
Ko had Derek Kistler on the bag for last season’s stellar comeback and half of 2021. Ko’s team didn’t want to comment on any reasons why she decided to make a change.
Lydia Ko of New Zealand walks up to the 16th green during the final round of the LPGA LOTTE Championship at Kapolei Golf Club on April 17, 2021 in Kapolei, Hawaii. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Ko is aware that she has a bit of reputation when it comes to caddies. Even those who have experienced great success with Ko aren’t safe from a pink slip.
When she was awarded the Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year in 2014, a teenaged Ko joked with the crowd at the Rolex LPGA Award Banquet when it came time to thank all the men who had carried her bag.
“This is the funny part, you see,” she said. “I want to thank Scott, Mark, Steve, Steve, Domingo, Fluff, Greg, Jason.”
“It’s like they got a group of caddies together and asked them to design a tour,” said Austin Johnson.
After his pro-am round ahead of last week’s LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami, Brooks Koepka spoke about how everyone from players to caddies and coaches to managers have enjoyed their time on the upstart series in its first year.
“It’s been fun to see a lot more smiles on people’s faces. I think everyone’s genuinely happy,” said Koepka at Trump National Doral after his round with the club’s namesake and former President of the United States, Donald Trump. “I think the way there’s food for the caddies, the way they’re treated like human beings, I think that’s nice as well, because I’ve seen both sides, and not everybody’s seen both sides.”
The four-time major champion used the same line on caddies being treated like human beings back in September, and while it’s an unfair, indirect comparison to how the PGA and DP World tours treat caddies, there is a stark difference in a looper’s experience with LIV compared to on the various tours.
“You feel more included. The little stuff, like just being able to go into the player dining and eat, and my wife can go in there and hang out and they let her go in all the Club 54’s and get some air conditioning and get a snack, stuff like that,” said Austin Johnson, brother and caddie for LIV’s season-long champion and 24-time winner on Tour, Dustin Johnson. “The Tour was great to us, it was a great place to work, LIV is just better quality of work for caddies.”
“I’m the most-spoiled caddie in the history of golf, don’t get me wrong,” he continued, “but like a lot of these guys, to have all the expenses paid for, to show up to work and know they’re gonna get a paycheck, it’s life changing. It really is.
“I’m not trying to talk bad about the PGA Tour, I’m just trying to highlight how great it is out here. I sound like a spoiled little kid but it’s just nice to be done with the round and I can go sit up in the air conditioning, have lunch with Dustin, have a decent meal versus walking over to some tent and hoping there’s food in there.”
Travel. Hotel. Shuttles. Food. It’s all covered by LIV. On the other tours, those caddie expenses come out of their own pocket. If you and your player miss the cut, you’re leaving empty-handed. That life-and-death weekly grind isn’t for the faint of heart, and LIV’s 54-hole, no-cut events make for a much more relaxed vibe and work environment on the course.
“I think it’s just different out here,” said Chris Rice, who carries the bag for Harold Varner III and spent nine years on the DP World Tour and five on the PGA Tour. “There’s obviously no cut, which helps. That’s why everyone’s got a smile on their face because on the PGA Tour, you’re playing for your livelihood, and if you miss the cut — it’s a bit different for the top guys because they’re always gonna make a lot of money, but for the guys that are lower down and fighting to keep their cards and pay for their family and stuff like that, I think everyone’s just a little bit more relaxed.”
Rice said the lack of a cut takes some of the pressure off, while Johnson argued he feels more pressure when he and Dustin are in contention in LIV events compared to when they were on Tour.
“There’s so much on the line, the difference between first and second is almost $2 million,” he said. “That’s huge. ‘Okay, you didn’t win, you get $2 million,’ but hell, could’ve won and made $4 million.”
Over LIV’s seven regular-season events, first place won $4 million, second won $2.125 million.
“The level of competition, everyone’s like ‘Oh, there’s no cut, what’re you worried about?’ but these guys want to win, they want to beat each other,” added Johnson. “We see each other all the time, we tee off at the same time, eat at the same time, you think these guys like watching (expletive) Dustin just dominate the individual thing? Nah man, it’s as competitive as it could get out here.”
LIV will transition to its 14-event league format in 2023, and officials are banking on the team aspect to commercialize the product and add a revenue stream it currently doesn’t possess. While fans have been slow to get on board, players and caddies are all-in on the teams.
“The team aspect is my favorite part,” said Johnson. “We go to team dinners and we’re hanging out together, we travel together sometimes when we can. Next year it’s going to be implemented a lot more with the team aspect. It’s exciting. It’s fun. It’s been rejuvenating, a breath of fresh air.”
“The whole team aspect is great because everyone’s playing for each other,” Rice agreed. “It’s not just playing for themselves. Because you’re playing for a team. It’s just different to what we normally play for.”
The players get bigger paydays with LIV, which means the caddies do, as well. Money is good on the other tours, but it can’t compare to LIV, where first place wins $4 million and last (48th) earns $120,000. For comparison, to make that much at this week’s PGA Tour stop in Mexico, a player would need to finish in the top 20 (18th – $125,050, 19th – $116,850).
“Pat Perez’s caddie, he worked a few years out on Tour where he might not even have broken even,” said Johnson, using Perez’s longtime looper Mike Hartford as an example. “Flying around the world 30 weeks a year, sharing hotels, sharing rental cars, sharing pizzas, working your ass off and losing money. That shouldn’t happen in America, especially not from a corporation that makes hundreds of millions of dollars off the guys out there working. That’s not right in my opinion.”
Hartford has been walking with Perez dating back to his first year on Tour in 2002. Over the last 20 years, Perez made $29,103,072 on Tour. Across seven LIV events, with a best finish of T-15, Perez cleared more than $8 million in LIV’s first year.
“It’s life changing. I’m just glad my player took me to come and I’m thankful for that, I feel grateful to be here,” said Hartford after he and Perez helped the 4Aces win the inaugural team championship last week. His experience with LIV has been positive, and it’s more than just the money.
“We’re more part of the team. I’m able to go to the dining with Pat, they take care of my hotel expense, my travel, airlines, all the transportation is provided, they make you really feel like you’re just another player, which is awesome.”
Rice said caddies are constantly asking if jobs are open, and he can’t resist the urge to “wind up the boys” each time when they do. But when it’s time to get serious, he’s honest about his experience thus far.
“If you get an opportunity to come out here, it can be life changing,” said Rice, echoing the similar sentiment felt by most LIV caddies. “I think hopefully down the line, I think everyone will start coming together. For the time being, we’ll see how it plays out.”
“I respect the opinions of those who want to stay away from LIV because of its complicated and controversial ties,” an anonymous LIV caddie recently told Golf Digest. “That said, out of my dozen or so closest caddie friends on Tour, half of them are doing everything they can to find a way to LIV. To a lot of us, it’s an opportunity we can’t afford to pass up.”
That money versus morals debate has been a point of contention with LIV since the series was announced. Due to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund being its sole backer, LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for the Kingdom to sportswash its human rights record. Saudi Arabia has been accused of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners. Not to mention members of the royal family and Saudi government were accused of involvement in the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist.
“I don’t really get involved too much, I don’t really read a lot into it. Everyone’s gonna have their opinion on it and that’s their own personal opinion. I can just give you an opinion on how I found it since I’ve been here,” said Rice. “I think if anyone gets the opportunity, they will for sure come out.”
“It’s like they got a group of caddies together and asked them to design a tour,” said Austin. “I honestly don’t know what they could do to make it better, have someone carry the bag for me is about the only (expletive) thing I can come up with.”
Tucker knows how to stay busy when he’s not carrying a bag.
LAS VEGAS — Tim Tucker just can’t stay away.
The veteran PGA Tour caddie is back on a bag this week, looping for Chesson Hadley at the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.
Why would Tucker, who owns a successful shuttle operation at Bandon Dunes and who has invented a putting alignment device and who loves to dive into with data, go back to his old gig?
“Because Chesson’s a great guy,” Tucker said after monitoring Hadley’s Tuesday range session. “He asked me a year ago to caddie here and I didn’t. I told him I wished I would have because, you know, it’s fun to get around different players and see what they’re doing. You learn more, you can help them in some of a different way. So it’s awesome. And he’s a great guy.”
True Aim putting marker is an aid designed by veteran PGA Tour caddie Tim Tucker. (Photo: Todd Kelly/Golfweek)
On Tuesday, he was watching Hadley hit iron shot after iron shot while calculating data from a Trackman as well as a Foresight launch monitor. Some of the discussion involved altitude, temperature, wind speed and even barometric pressure.
“I was in the military, I was on a rifle team. And we used anemometers for long range,” he said as he explained how back in 2016 he and DeChambeau really started to explore metrics. “We started to apply that to golf ball density, temperature and barometric pressure, all that mattered determines how far the ball is going, temperature and altitude in time, then it’s quantifiable. So we started with that, when we started working into green density and understanding with angle of descent of an iron shot with a certain spin rate leading into a certain slope, then the run out was predictable. And so we started doing that, and we just kept on and we never stopped.”
Tucker was alongside DeChambeau for all eight of his PGA Tour victories, including the 2020 U.S. Open but it was their breakup in July 2021 on the eve of the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit that made headlines in the golf world.
“It’s just one of those things that just happened. For better or for worse,” Tucker said. “Bryson doesn’t need me to play great golf, and he’s proven that. The kid is amazing athlete.
“He turned me into what people would say is a reliable, good caddie. Whether I am or not, that’s the perception because of him, right? And, you know, he helped me make a lot of money. Help me get my kids through college. You know, and so I’m forever in his debt.”
Today, the two are still friends.
Bryson DeChambeau talks with his caddie Tim Tucker on the fourth green during the final round of the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. (Photo: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports)
“We’re good. Yeah, absolutely. I’ve talked to him probably once every two weeks, you know?,” Tucker said. “And we don’t really necessarily talk about golf. We just talked about, he’s building his dream house and talk to him about that, or talk to him about long drive.”
DeChambeau recently finished second in the World Long Drive Championships, about 90 miles northwest of TPC Summerlin in Mesquite, Nevada. That performance didn’t surprise Tucker.
“He’s the hardest working guy I’ve ever seen. And like, dedicated to his intensity level, his dedication is second to none. He is laser focused. When he when he gets it in his head, he’s gonna do something he gets it done.”
So when he’s not working as a part-time caddie or pitching his True Aim putting device, Tucker’s putting as much time and energy into Loop Golf Transportation, a high-end shuttle service that gets golfers to and from Bandon Dunes in Oregon. Tucker used to caddie at Bandon and knows the lay of the land of the remote location. Looping on the Tour from time to time gives him the chance to let more people know about it.
“It’s great being out here because you know, we get a lot of exposure,” he said. “Players are always helping me out. Stewart Cink asked me ‘What was the name of your business in Bandon again? I know people going there all the time. I’ll tell them.’ Yeah, I mean, how nice is that?”
Tucker said he’s not trying to overload Hadley this week with numbers and Hadley himself said he doesn’t want too much of the deep data. But everyone who Tucker caddies for knows that he knows what he’s talking about.
“I worked for Lexi [Thompson] in the Women’s Open and there was an article that came out, like they tried to make Lexi seem like she wasn’t wasn’t able to handle the information that Bryson is. And of course she she’s smartest can be. I mean, these are pro golfers. This is what they do. They look at his stuff. Some of the stuff they may not pay attention to. But once you show it to him, if they get it, they understand it, this is what they do.
“And I hated that for her that they did that, you know, and it was unfair because she’s a very intelligent woman.”
Rickie Fowler and Joe Skovron parted ways in August after 13 years together.
NAPA, Calif. — Tom Kim will have an experienced hand on the bag at the 2022 Presidents Cup.
The 20-year-old South Korean, who made Trevor Immelman’s International Team, has hired Joe Skovron, who spent the previous 13 years caddying for Rickie Fowler.
Skovron, 41, was by Fowler’s side when he won his first PGA Tour title at the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, host course for the Presidents Cup, which begins Thursday.
“For me, it’s great to be at a course that I’m so familiar with, that Rickie had a ton of success at and we went back to every year,” said Skovron, who spoke while waiting to catch a flight to Dallas to work with Kim this weekend before heading to Charlotte next week. “At least I’ll have familiarity with the golf course as we get a feel for each other.”
Kim has had a meteoric rise to No. 21 in the Official World Golf Ranking. He won the Wyndham Championship in August despite making a quadruple bogey on the first hole of the tournament. In doing so, he became the first winner on the PGA Tour born in the 2000s and the second-youngest winner since World War II, trailing only Jordan Spieth at the 2013 John Deere Classic.
It’s a smart move to pair the inexperienced Kim with a seasoned veteran with plenty of local knowledge. Kim’s agent, Ben Harrison of SportFive, sought out Skovron, a veteran of three Presidents Cups and someone who knows the ins-and-outs of international competition, and made the introduction. Skovron, who first took note of Kim at the Scottish Open this summer, said he’s agreed to work with Kim at the Shriners Children’s Open, Zozo Championship and the CJ Cup this fall.
“It’s an exciting opportunity with Tom and we’ll see how it goes,” he said.
Asked about Skovron teaming up with Kim, Fowler said he hoped the two would click and form a lasting partnership.
“I’m stoked for him,” Fowler said. “We were in Memphis (at the FedEx St. Jude Championship) and Tom was making faces and playing with my little girl. He seems like a great kid. It was great to see him play the way he did at Wyndham. I’m excited for Joe. He’s getting a younger guy who is fresh.”
Joe Skovron at the 2019 Masters.
Fowler and Skovron parted ways last month after 13 years together. For Fowler’s fan club, it will take some getting used to seeing their guy with Ricky Romano, who started on the bag for Fowler this week at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California.
“With us, it was so much more than a player-caddie relationship,” Skovron said. “We have history from the time he was a little kid, growing up in the same town, my parents knowing him that long, me knowing his family that long, it was tough and I think we did the best we could with it and everything is fine with us. I look forward to our relationship going forward.”
Every week on virtually every tour, the winning caddie grabs the flag on 18.
It has become a tradition unlike any other.
Every week on virtually every tour, the winning caddie grabs the flag on 18. It has become the caddie’s trophy, as much of a ritual as players removing their hats and shaking hands after the round. But what is the origin of this tradition and who started it? No one seems to know.
“I don’t know how it happened,” says Ted Scott, who earned his third Masters flag working on the bag of Scottie Scheffler in 2022 to go with the previous two he pocketed with Bubba Watson in 2012 and 2014. “But it’s a cool tradition, a huge reward and a special thing. Whoever started it, I’m grateful for it.”
Golfweek did some digging, hoping to get to the bottom of this unsolved mystery, and along the way the stories we heard about caddies and flags were too good not to share.
