Tag: Matthew Fitzpatrick

Matthew Fitzpatrick shoots 66 to take early lead at Genesis Invitational

Matthew Fitzpatrick rode a hot putter to an eagle and four birdies and the early lead at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.

Matthew Fitzpatrick is making his 77th start on the PGA Tour this week and is still searching for his first victory. But the Englishman is off to a dreamy start in Tinseltown.

When told that his 5-under 66, the lowest round among the early wave of finishers, tied his lowest first-round score of his Tour career, Fitzpatrick responded, “Oh, really?”

Sure, there were a few loose swings in there and one bogey on the card, but not too shabby to tour Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, California, in 66 strokes. Fitzpatrick’s round was highlighted by a 24-foot eagle putt at No. 1. For the round, Fitzpatrick crouched into his spider-like pose to read the lines and holed 125 feet of putts, gaining more than three strokes on the field with his putter.

Genesis Invitational: Leaderboard | Photos

“On the whole it’s a great start, couldn’t ask for any better,” Fitzpatrick said.

Starting his morning on the back nine, Fitzpatrick broke into red figures early with a birdie at the par-5 11th, which was set up by a wedge to 3 feet. He gave the stroke back with a bogey at 13, but then he found his touch with the short stick on the par 3s, rolling in a 43-foot birdie at the 14th hole and a 10-footer at 16.

On the second nine, Fitzpatrick got off to a magical start with the eagle at the first and tacked on another birdie by stiffing his approach from 156 yards to inside 3 feet at No. 7. Overall, he hit 7 of 14 fairways and 8 of 18 greens, but managed to scramble 9 out of the 10 times he missed a green.

The 26-year-old Englishman has won six times on the European Tour and entered the week ranked No. 20 in the world. With only one first-round lead to his credit, Fitzpatrick’s fast start on Thursday could be just the start he needs to ensure he’s part of the trophy hunt on Sunday.

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Have a laugh on this Monday courtesy of the European Tour’s latest video, ‘Angry Golfers’

Have a laugh on this Monday courtesy of the European Tour’s latest video, “Angry Golfers.”

Tyrrell Hatton has been on a great run the last year.

The 29-year-old Englishman has won three times since hoisting the trophy at March’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, most-recently claiming last weekend’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and October’s BMW PGA Championship.

Maybe Hatton is just riding the momentum of re-signing his equipment deal with Ping. Or maybe he’s finally getting help.

Hatton, who jumped from No. 9 to No. 5 in the latest world golf ranking, admittedly wears his heart on his sleeve, which has produced some hilarious on-course moments over the years, like his club toss in disgust at the CJ Cup and when he used his putter as a rifle to shoot at – then give the finger to – a pond.

In a hilarious video posted by the European Tour last week, Hatton admitted to being an “angry golfer.”

In the video, Tommy Fleetwood hosts a group therapy session for some of the angriest golfers on the European Tour, featuring Hatton, Eddie Pepperell, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Henrik Stenson and Ian Poulter. Each player has a little fun made at their expense, with Hatton taking the most shots. Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer even makes an appearance.

Next time you’re on the course, just remember: “When you’re feeling glum, pop up your thumb.” It worked for Hatton.

Lee Westwood claims third career Race to Dubai; Matthew Fitzpatrick carries off DP World Tour title

Lee Westwood carried off the European Tour’s Race To Dubai for the third time in his career. Matthew Fitzpatrick won the season finale.

Lee Westwood carried off another European Tour honor on Sunday by landing atop the European Tour Order of Merit for the third time in his career. Westwood, 47, first collected the honor 20 years ago.

Westwood clinched it this time on the strength of a runner-up finish at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, the European Tour’s season finale. He fired a final-round 68 and finished one shot behind winner Matthew Fitzpatrick, just 26.

It was a bit of a wild finish at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. A number of players were in the mix to win the title, including Patrick Reed, who was also aiming to become the first American to win the European Tour money title. Reed, however, dropped shots at Nos. 16 and 17. Likewise, Laurie Canter made a double-bogey on No. 17, clearing the way for Fitzpatrick to win the DP title with a par on 18.

It’s his second victory in this event, which he also won in 2016.

SCORES: DP World Tour Championship

Even though Fitzpatrick won the event, Westwood arguably won the day. The Englishman’s year began with a win at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, his 25th European Tour title and the one that made him the first active player to win in four decades.

His previous two Harry Vardon trophies came in 2000 and 2009.

“It’s been 20 years since I sat there at Valderrama and finished second in the American Express Championship to win the Volvo Order of Merit as it was back then,” he said. “I won here in 2009 to win the Race to Dubai and now I’ve finished second to win it today.

“They have all been very different. I guess 2000, sort of I was winning a lot, but I was still up and coming. It was only my seventh year on Tour. 2009, I was honing in on the best player in the world spot, and I needed to win here to win the Race to Dubai, and I managed to do that.

“And then this one, I’m kind of the more mature player on the European Tour now. It wasn’t something I set out to do at the start of the year, but it shows the consistency I’ve shown. The motivation’s never changed, really. I get to get up each day and do the job I love. I’ve always wanted to be a golfer and I don’t want it to end.”

The Race to Dubai title suddenly opens up the possibility that Westwood might qualify for the Ryder Cup, pushed back from 2020 to 2021 because of the COVID pandemic. It would be his 11th appearance as a player after serving as a vice captain in 2018.

“I’d love to play again, obviously,” he said. “It beats watching. There’s obviously a lot less pressure watching the lads being Vice Captain.

“If I qualify for the team then I’m clearly good enough, and that’s the way I’m going to play it. I can still turn up to the biggest tournaments and compete as I proved at the start of the year in Abu Dhabi; the U.S. Open where I bogeyed the last two holes and, if I hadn’t, I’d have finished fifth, and here.”

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WATCH: Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland and others try for $1 million ace … on water

Thomas and other Team Troon golfers teed it up on a floating box in Las Vegas to raise money for charity. Breaking Par documented the event.

What do Justin Thomas, Gary Woodland, Matt Kuchar, Cheyenne Woods, Alex Noren and Matthew Fitzpatrick have in common?

For starters, they are all part of Team Troon, a group of professional golfers representing the Troon brand. And as part of a recent renewal of the Team Troon initiative, these golf pros took on their most novel challenge yet. Make a hole in one. From the water.

That’s right. Our partners at Breaking Par — a half-hour monthly show on Fox Sports Networks throughout the United States — documented the challenge in a recent episode, where J.T. and company traveled to Rio Secco Golf Club in Las Vegas to raise money for local charities impacted by COVID-19. Each competitor was boated out to a 12-by-12, fully turfed floating tee box in the middle of a pond. From there, each had an opening shot from 145 yards. If that ball went in the hole, they would win $1 million (half of which would go to a charity of their choice).

Afterward, the golfers tried to put three more shots from the same tee box as close to the pin as possible. The closest of these would net the winning contestant an additional $10,000 to be put towards charity.

“I’ve never hit a shot off of an island tee box before, so it definitely stands in a league of its own,” said Thomas.

What happened next?

Tour commissioner Jay Monahan hit by errant tee shot at PGA Championship

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was hit by an errant shot Thursday at the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

Just because social distancing is being enforced at TPC Harding Park, that doesn’t mean there’s no danger.

From rogue golf balls, that is.

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was hit by an errant tee shot Thursday at the PGA Championship, but appeared in good spirits after the surprise, according to a report by the Associated Press.

“One hop off the shoulder,” Monahan said of the shot hit by Matthew Fitzpatrick.

According to the report, it was the first time Monahan had ever been hit by a ball on the course in all his years working in the sport.

Monahan told Golfweek’s Steve DiMeglio on Friday that he has a bruise from the incident.

The errant shot perfectly summed up the day Fitzpatrick had at the season’s first major as the 25-year-old finished the day 4-over 74 and T-129.

The PGA Championship is being held in San Francisco without patrons due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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To play or not to play the week before a major — that is the question

Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus liked to rest while Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson prefer to play the week before the major.

To play the week before a major championship or not to play?

Every player has an opinion. For some it is an obvious answer and for others it remains an unsolved mystery.

“For me it varies. It really does,” said Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick. “I’ve never played the week before Augusta. But you know, the other majors, it tends to just fall in periods where the golf courses beforehand, they either happen to have suited my game or just want to get in a flow of golf really in the time period.”

The WGC FedEx St. Jude Invitational lived this annual debate for players for many years when it preceded the U.S. Open in June. Those days were supposed to be over with an original summer date slated for July 2-5 – two weeks after the U.S. Open and two weeks before the British Open. The hope was that Tiger Woods would finally make an appearance at the St. Jude. But with the golf season being interrupted for 91 days due to the global pandemic, the WGC St. Jude is back in the same old boat re-scheduled for the week before the PGA Championship, which is being held across the country at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

So, how did it impact Fitzpatrick’s decision to play at TPC Southwind?

“I played pretty well there last year, so I’m actually looking forward to playing there before to hopefully sort of get some confidence going into the PGA and sort of build some momentum,” said Fitzpatrick, who finished T-4 in 2019.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to playing the week before the major. Jack Nicklaus, the winner of a record 18 major titles, valued preparation and made a habit of skipping the week before a major and going to the tournament site early and charting the course. In contrast, former St. Jude champion Lee Trevino, one of his toughest foes and a six-time major winner, typically grooved his game by playing his way into a tournament.

“I don’t care if it’s the Screen Door Open,” Trevino once said. “If the money’s out there, I’ll tee it up on a gravel road.”

In more recent years, Tiger Woods, who announced on Friday he would be skipping the WGC, rarely played ahead of a major while Phil Mickelson prefers to play and has been a mainstay in Memphis, saying, “What makes it a good preparation for me is just the competition…It’s hard to replicate it at home. I feel the best way to prepare is to play well and get in contention and competition when you’re really trying to focus.”

Justin Thomas, the 2017 PGA Championship winner, has followed the Woods model, opting to take the week off before the majors to preserve energy before the most physically and mentally taxing weeks of the year.

“One of the biggest ways to take a lot of energy out of yourself is winning a golf tournament or having a chance to win a golf tournament, and I felt I would never want to go into a major off of that, so why am I going to go play a tournament the week before when I’m going there to try to win? That to me just doesn’t make sense,” Thomas explained. “It takes so much out of you.”

If there’s a hole in Thomas’s logic, it is that despite his strong feeling about not playing the week before majors he made an exception this time and signed up for four rounds at TPC Southwind.

“That being said, I’m not going to miss the opportunity to play in a WGC. If it was another event at a course where maybe I didn’t like, I probably wouldn’t go play, but I like that tournament, and I like that course,” he explained. “Hopefully, we’ll just get hot for two weeks.”

World No. 1 Jon Rahm has played in just 14 career majors and still is developing his philosophy, but said so far he’s tried to rest up before majors.

“That is kind of going out the window this year because we’re playing Memphis before the PGA, so that’s not always possible. But yeah, so far that’s kind of been it,” he said.

Rahm, who won the Memorial in his most recent start, heaped praise on the TPC Southwind layout as one of the primary reasons for his decision to play.

“What I like is it’s a test of a golf course. You have to be really, really, really good tee to green,” he said. “I think it’s a really, really good test before a major championship.”

Rahm also predicted that a tough setup before a major could provide the mental toughness a player needs to perform his best at a major championship.

“Different things work for different people,” Rahm said. “Some play the week before. Tiger didn’t. Who knows? It’s something you find over time. I’ll let you know if I ever get on a streak of winning multiple majors. That will mean I’ve found the secret.”

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With ‘Bones’ on the bag, Matthew Fitzpatrick has best outing this season

“We” was a key word this week at the Memorial as Matthew Fitzpatrick’s caddie was longtime Phil Mickelson bag-carrier Jim “Bones” Mackay.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Matthew Fitzpatrick knew how difficult Muirfield Village Golf Club would play on Sunday.

Perfect, he thought.

“I much prefer it when it’s tough,” Fitzpatrick said after shooting the low score of the day with a 4-under-par 68 at the Memorial Tournament. “Guys aren’t necessarily too happy when it’s tough and level par can move you up spots, which is what I like.

“You’ve got to grind, and I’d rather stick in rather than just being sort of relaxed and going at every pin. I don’t like that type of golf.”

The 25-year-old from England started the day tied for 18th. He was in third place at 5 under behind Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer when his round ended and finished there.

Fitzpatrick was one of only five golfers to break par on Sunday in the hot, windy conditions that made fairways and greens hard to hold. Fitzpatrick hit 11 of 14 fairways in his final round.

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“That just allowed me to control the ball into the greens,” he said. “The fact that it’s playing so firm, you’ve really got to pick your spots, pick your targets. I’d say aggressive to conservative targets, and I think we sort of did that really well.”

The “we” was a key word. Fitzpatrick’s caddie the last two weeks was longtime Phil Mickelson bag-carrier Jim “Bones” Mackay. Fitzpatrick’s normal caddie, Billy Foster, opted to stay in England because of the pandemic. Fitzpatrick said Foster will rejoin him in Memphis in two weeks.

His only previous Memorial was last year when he finished tied for 68th. He said Mackay’s knowledge of Muirfield proved invaluable.

Memorial: Leaderboard | Best photos | Winner’s bag| Money

“Definitely,” Fitzpatrick said. “He’s seen conditions like this plenty of times, and to have him on the bag was brilliant. I definitely learned a couple things off him, and I’ll be picking his brain to see what I can improve on.”

He might have do quite a bit of probing. Mackay raved about Fitzpatrick’s game.

“I told Matthew after the first day last week I was so impressed with his game and his arsenal of shots, and he showed me so much,” Mackay said. “He’s a very, very good player, and it was a joy to be with him.”

The only blemish on Fitzpatrick’s round was a bogey on the first hole, and Mackay said the golfer even hit two “perfect” shots on that hole.

“It set the tone for what we were going to deal with the rest of the day, and he handled it like a champ,” Mackay said.

He was perhaps most impressed by Fitzpatrick’s ability to read greens.

“I think that’s going to take him a long way in this game,” Mackay said. “He’s longer than I thought he was going to be. He’s really good. And the thing I told him out there today is that his game matches up really well for the majors.”

Fitzpatrick’s best previous finish this year was a tie for ninth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, the week before the pandemic shut down the tour.

After shooting a 75 on Thursday, he was worried about making the cut.

“Amazing,” Fitzpatrick said. “From where I was after Thursday, yeah, it wasn’t highly expected. I’m going to be honest. To be in the clubhouse now with 4 under (for the day) is fantastic.”

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Could Jim “Bones” Mackay be the difference for Matthew Fitzpatrick in his search for maiden PGA Tour title?

The 25-year-old Englishman will have one of the most successful caddies on his bag for two weeks as Jim “Bones” Mackay returns to duty.

When Matthew Fitzpatrick received a text message from Jim “Bones” Mackay asking if he needed a fill-in caddie at the Workday Charity Open and the Memorial, Fitzpatrick nearly lost his mind and wondered if someone was playing a practical joke on him.

“I was absolutely shocked,” Fitzpatrick said. “He mentioned that he’d spoke to Aneel (Bhusri, Workday’s CEO) and I was looking for a caddie. When he mentioned that, I thought no one could be making it up. So yeah, we sort of exchanged a few texts and figured some things out, and then yeah, here we are.”

Mackay, 53, who spent 25 years on Phil Mickelson’s bag, including 41 victories and all five of his major titles, has been a TV commentator for NBC Sports and Golf Channel since parting ways with Mickelson in 2017, and last worked at the Players Championship in March.

“When the PGA Tour got restarted I was envious of the guys being back out here, whether it’s TV, caddying, what have you,” Mackay said. “To have this opportunity to be out here with the fellas in the sun getting a bit of exercise is a fantastic feeling.”

Matthew Fitzpatrick goes low to line up a putt on the 18th hole during the third round of the 2020 RBC Heritage at Harbour Town Golf Links. Photo by Brian Spurlock/USA TODAY Sports

Fitzpatrick is without his regular caddie Billy Foster, who has worked for the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood in the past, but elected to stay home in England rather than risk contracting coronavirus traveling to the U.S., and having to quarantine for 14 days upon entry (and again when returning home). Fitzpatrick used another experienced hand, Cayce Kerr, in his previous three starts since the Tour’s resumption last month.

Potential was there

Mackay first got an up-close view of the 25-year-old Englishman’s enormous potential when Mickelson was paired with Fitzpatrick, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, at the 2014 U.S. Open.

“I knew two things,” Mackay said. “That he was a really good player and a really good guy. When I heard kind of through the grapevine that some of the European caddies weren’t coming over because of the quarantine issues and I heard Billy in particular wasn’t coming with Matt, I thought, my goodness I’m going to reach out to this guy because I love to caddie, I still consider myself a caddie to this day who’s just doing TV, and I said, ‘Hey, if I can help out at all I’d love to do it.’ And he said, ‘I’m all set the first three but the two in Ohio would be great,’ and I said, ‘I’ll see you there.’ It worked out wonderfully.”

Mackay also likened Fitzpatrick’s ball flight to that of four-time major champion Brooks Koepka.

“I love working for guys where if you’re hitting the ball into an 8-mile-an-hour wind all of a sudden, you can say, ‘Can you take that down a level or two?’ And the club will get there, so to speak. I think a big part of playing well at this level is being able to flight the ball nicely, and he’s got that in spades,” Mackay said.

Fitzpatrick has won five times on the European Tour and ranks No. 26 in the Official World Golf Ranking, 15th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. The Englishman is still seeking his maiden title on the PGA Tour and believes the knowledge that Mackay brings to the table could make a difference.

“Everyone knows sort of his place in the game and how well he’s done,” Fitzpatrick said. “It kind of makes you feel better about your own game that someone of that stature has belief in your game. … I have a little bit of extra confidence, I guess. And it might be false confidence, but either way it’s certainly a big help in my opinion.”

Fitzpatrick said he expects Foster to re-join him at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational later this month and be on his bag for the PGA Championship the following week, Aug. 6-9. In the meantime, he should be in good hands with Mackay, who first came to Muirfield Village Golf Club in 1990, and came out of retirement in 2018 at the Sony Open to caddie for Justin Thomas when his caddie, Jimmy Johnson, was sidelined with a foot injury.

“The one thing I am lucky to have is a good memory,” Mackay said. “I’ve seen (Muirfield Village) in an array of different conditions, different winds. It’s a question of me learning Matt’s game as quickly as I can and if he’s got a question for me I’d better be able to answer it. That’s my job as his caddie.”

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2020 Workday Charity Open odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets

Analyzing the golf betting odds to win the 2020 Workday Charity Open, with PGA Tour betting odds, picks, predictions and best bets.

The 2020 Workday Charity Open begins Thursday, replacing the John Deere Classic on the 2019-20 PGA Tour schedule, and takes place before next week’s Memorial Tournament as the first of back-to-back events at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Below, we look at the tournament betting odds at BetMGM and make our picks to win the 2020 Workday Charity Open.

Jon Rahm, who enters the week at No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings highlights another strong 156-man field. Bryson DeChambeau is taking the week off after winning last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit and rising to No. 6 in the Golfweek rankings.

2020 Workday Charity Open Betting Picks – Tier 1

Jun 19, 2020; Hilton Head, S.C.; Justin Rose lines up a putt at RBC Heritage. (Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock – USA TODAY Sports)

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday, July 6 at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Justin Rose (+2500)

Only three golfers in the field have played more career rounds than Rose’s 46 at Muirfield Village. He ranks third among all golfers in attendance with an average of 2.39 strokes gained per round, according to Data Golf.

Rose leads my stat model at Fantasy National with field ranks of third in both Strokes Gained: Approach and Birdies or Better Gained over his last 50 rounds played on courses longer than 7,400 yards. The course has been lengthened to 7,456 yards for this week’s event.

Looking to place a bet on the 2020 Workday Charity Open? Get some action on it at BetMGM. Bet Now!

Matt Kuchar (+4000)

Kuchar matches Rose’s experience at Muirfield Village and has gained 2.75 strokes per round on the field. The 2013 Memorial Tournament champion missed the cut last year in an uncharacteristically poor performance from tee-to-green and on approach. He has taken the last two weeks off following a T-41 showing at the RBC Heritage.

2020 Workday Charity Open Betting Picks – Tier 2

Jun 20, 2020; Hilton Head, S.C.; Matthew Fitzpatrick on the 18th hole during the third round of the RBC Heritage. (Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock – USA TODAY Sports)

Matthew Fitzpatrick (+5000)

Fitzpatrick tied for 68th at last year’s Memorial Tournament while losing 1.56 strokes per round on the field putting. The star of the European Tour will play his fourth of five events since the PGA Tour returned to play after skipping out on the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He’s linking up with veteran caddie Jim “Bones” MacKay this week and should be able to gain a better feel for the Bentgrass/Poa Annua greens.

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Corey Conners (+8000)

Conners tied for 65th here in 2019. He finished at plus-four in his debut at Muirfield Village. He’s coming off a missed cut at the Travelers Championship and a week off, but had previously tied for 19th at the Charles Schwab Challenge and 21st at the RBC Heritage in strong fields. He has plenty of distance for this venue and is an expert ball-striker.

2020 Workday Charity Open Betting Picks – Long shots

Jun 20, 2020; Hilton Head, S.C.; Ian Poulter on the 10th fairway during the third round of the RBC Heritage. (Photo Credit: Brian Spurlock – USA TODAY Sports)

Ian Poulter (+10000)

Poulter ranks sixth in my stat model and leads the field in Proximity from 175-200 Yards. He’s also fifth in Par 4 Efficiency: 450-500 Yards and ninth in SG: Approach on courses longer than 7,400 yards. The veteran Englishman has averaged 0.89 strokes gained per round across 17 career trips around Muirfield Village.

Keith Mitchell (+25000)

Mitchell’s lone career victory came at the Nicklaus redesigned-PGA National Resort and Spa last March. The strong field this week results in him being buried in the odds, as he missed the cut at both the RBC Heritage and Travelers Championship following a T-64 finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge in his return to play.

He ranks fifth in this field in Birdies or Better Gained and 10th in SG: Tee-to-Green on long courses, and he’s one of the longest hitters on Tour.

Get some action on the 2020 Workday Charity Open by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.

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Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay to caddie for Matthew Fitzpatrick next two weeks

Mackay, the longtime sidekick for Phil Mickelson, will caddie the next two weeks for Matthew Fitzpatrick.

Jim “Bones” Mackay will be walking the fairways of Muirfield Village Golf Club the next two weeks with a bag on his back again instead of a microphone in his hand.

Mackay, 53, who spent 25 years as Phil Mickelson’s sidekick, is coming out of retirement to caddie for Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick during the Dublin Double – the Workday Charity Open and The Memorial will both be held at Jack’s Place during the next two weeks.

According to a story posted by Golf Digest, Fitzpatrick didn’t recognize the phone number calling him and let it go to voice mail.

“The message said it was Bones, and he heard through the grapevine that I was in the market for a fill-in caddie,” Fitzpatrick told Golf Digest. “I told him I was honored that he was even reaching out.”

Leaderboard | Tee times, TV | Odds | Fantasy picks | By the rankings

In recent years, Fitzpatrick has had longtime caddie Billy Foster working for him, but Foster has elected to take time off rather than risking becoming infected with COVID-19 and having to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival in the U.S.

Fitzpatrick played the first three events of the Tour restart with mixed results: T-32 at Colonial, T-14 at Harbour Town and a missed cut at TPC River Highlands.

According to Golf Digest, Fitzpatrick first met Mackay when he played in Mickelson’s group as an amateur in the 2014 U.S. Open, and the two crossed paths occasionally because Mickelson and Fitzpatrick are both sponsored by Workday.

Mackay split from Mickelson in June 2017, and has become a respected on-course reporter for NBC Sports and Golf Channel. (The Workday Charity Open and The Memorial are both being broadcast by CBS.)

Mackay previously was called back into active duty as a caddie when Jimmy Johnson, the caddie for Justin Thomas, was out with a foot injury at the 2018 Sony Open.

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