Zach Johnson’s Longtime Caddie Damon Green Is “Shocked” By Split
After 15 successful years, Damon Green was given his walking papers by Zach Johnson. Hey, it happens.
There are numerous divorces between Tour players and their caddies for a plethora of reasons. Sometimes, it’s merely growing tired of each other and the player wants a change. Let’s face it, the partnership does spend a bunch of time together and if the player is struggling, the easiest alteration is to find another looper.
But, when long term relationships go kaput, it makes for a surprising story. Case in point is the Zach Johnson/Damon Green 15-year partnership. The CaddieNetwork’s Craig Dolch reports Green was “shocked” by the news. Johnson had slipped to 66th in World Rankings and had only two top-10 finishes in 2018.
In 387 starts with Damon Green on his bag, Zach Johnson had 79 top-10s, 175 top-25s and only missed the cut in 67 of 387 events. Oh and two major wins (2007 Masters/2015 Open and nine other Tour victories). Johnson’s earnings of $44.7 million rank 11th all-time
“Zach said, ‘I think we need to take a break. It’s not a ‘firing.’ We’re too good friends for that.’” Green told The Caddie Network on Saturday.
“I just think he didn’t want to say the word ‘fire.’ I was shocked.”
“He’s probably had a Hall of Fame career and I had a front-row seat to it,” Green said. “It was great to watch.”
Johnson is expected to hire Brett Waldman, who has been Charley Hoffman’s caddie. Johnson and Waldman played mini-tour golf together.
Green previously worked with Scott Hoch for four years, but left him after the 2003 season when he recognized Johnson’s potential and Hoch was dealing with a chronic wrist injury.
“I saw Zach in a club repair shop and told him it was important for him to have a good caddie,” Green recalled. “And, I said, ‘I’ve got some friends you might want to consider.’ Zach said, ‘you’re No. 1 on my list.’
“I went and researched how Zach was No. 1 in almost every category, so it was an easy decision.”
“I’ve missed out on a lot of family things for 20 years,” he said. “I’m thankful I don’t have work again if I don’t want to.
“But there’s a part of me that loves caddying. I’d say it’s probably 80 percent I’ll caddie again. But it has to be the right situation.”
Green was a hot topic for many who didn’t enjoy his “birdie dance” after Johnson posted a birdie or eagle.
If Green wants to continue, he’d be perfect to mentor a young upstart unfamiliar with the various Tour venues.
