Caddie Confidential Warns About Going After Rory McIlroy’s Bag

Another excellent Caddie Confidential c/o ESPN’s Michael Collins delves into the dicey scenario of trying to be Rory McIlroy’s next caddie, the shock of several longtime player/caddie relationships ending in divorce this year and what its like when a $140,000 week is guaranteed at the Tour Championship.

Collins: How shocked were the caddies when all the changes happened this year with Phil and Bones, Rory and J.P., and now Jason (Day) and Colin?
Caddie: I think very shocked. I mean, we hadn’t had any changes in … Phil and Bones was a complete shock. I think all three of ’em! You don’t normally have a lot of big-name guys switching. J. Day and these guys have had their same caddies for a long time and all of the sudden we have three big names switch in two months? So yeah, I think there were a lot of guys that were shocked, including myself.
Collins: And with Phil, Rory, and Jason (Day) still uncommitted to a caddie next year, it must be strange in the caddie rooms wondering, “Is that guy going to call and try for that bag?” It’s almost like high school!
Caddie: It is like high school. But you know what? If you want to get in the mix and start asking around, that’s fine, but nowadays guys are professional. Rory’s not going to start talking. I don’t know what his deal is, he’s probably got a few guys in mind. He had 150 guys reach out to him.

Collins: The hard thing for caddies, we are an extremely loyal bunch.
Caddie: Totally.
Collins: And in that sense, even if someone else becomes available we’re like (hemming and hawing), “This is my dude. I’m not leaving him.”
Caddie: And not only that, every guy here this week is a top-30 guy, and you don’t really want your guy knowing you’re out sniffing around trying to get another bag.
Collins: Right.
Caddie: It’s just not, I mean, at the end of the day, a business is a business, and I think that if you’re going to work for a Rory McIlroy, the guy is (28 years old) and the guy is one of the best players in the world. There’s not a lot of guys that can argue with it, but at the same time it’s hard to go about sniffing around. Because he’s no different (than anyone else). You call his agent and his agent is friends with somebody else and it gets back to you.

Collins: Hardest part about the week (Tour Championship)?
Caddie: I’ll tell you one thing, if you get off to a bad start, it becomes a long week. Because once you finish outside the top 10, everyone’s kind of making the same money, so it’s key to get off to a good start here. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s that difficult because everyone wants to have a good finish and you know with only 30 guys, if you go out on the weekend and play well … I don’t really think there’s anything that’s difficult, but I think getting off to a good start, getting in the mix, and staying motivated is important.
Collins: If you’re like in 25th or 26th place going into the weekend, it’s hard to give your guy a pep talk.
Caddie: Exactly. You have one bad round to start? I forget who [did] last year, but you get one bad round and it’s like, (sigh) “OK.” Now you’re 10 strokes back with three rounds to play. And if you’re out of it on the weekend, it can be a little tiring.