Matt Kuchar concedes he made a mistake last year when he didn't reward David Giral Ortiz, his fill-in caddie during his victory at the
Matt Kuchar has turned one of the feel-good stories of the golfing year into a personal nightmare, all because he shorted a caddie's tip. In November, Kuchar won the Mayakoba Golf Classic — his first tournament win in four years — and the $1.3 million prize that came with it.
Matt Kuchar again apologizes for underpaying Mayakoba Classic caddie. Matt Kuchar received more attention for underpaying a fill-in caddie a year ago at the Mayakoba Classic than he did for winning the tournament.
Most courses have a suggested gratuity or recommended single fee, but if you had an excellent caddie that enhanced your golfing experience, you should feel free to give more. Considering all that, the average caddie will make between $100 and $140 per bag per round.
That fan was Tom Fraser, a school principal, who had the rare opportunity to carry Robert Allenby's bag—an opportunity made possible, well, because the Australian golfer had fired his actual caddie mid-round.
Remarkably, she did this in the thick of contention in a major. “Had a couple of disagreements here and there,” Korda said. “I wasn't in the right state of mind, and I just was more consumed by what was going on, just not my way. And I knew I needed to switch and just have a little bit more fun out there.
Will Zalatoris explained he fired his caddie and "best friend" Ryan Goble to save their relationship off the golf course. "We've kind of had a rough month together and it was starting to affect our relationship," he said, per Adam Smith of the Times-News (h/t USA Today).
Yes, caddies still get paid even if their player misses the cut. Typically, caddies and their players agree on their base pay for the week.
It was traditionally assumed that it was ten percent of their player's winnings, although that isn't always the case anymore. A caddie will negotiate a contract with their player and while the details will vary, the industry standard is that the caddie will be paid a weekly stipend of between $1500 and $3000 per week.
The commonly held belief is that most caddies make around $1,500 to $3,000 per tournament. In addition to that, each caddie has a negotiated deal with the golfer to be paid a percentage of their winnings.
Tiger Woods' caddie typically earns a five to 10 percent share of his golfer's earnings, according to Golf Week.
Caddies for professional players could make up to $3,000 per tournament, but they also receive a percentage of the player's winnings. As of 2020, the highest paid caddy in golf was Justin Thomas' assistant Jimmy Johnson, who reportedly received as many as $502,851 on that year.
Joe LaCava, Tiger Woods' caddie since 2011, will be carrying the bag for the world No. 4 for the foreseeable future beginning this week at the 2023 Wells Fargo Championship, according to Golf Channel.
I said, look, man, I'm 43 years old. I don't know what I'm going to do. My wrist is killing me. He is like he needs ten more years, and I gave him — I felt like a nice retirement package when we split up, but we split up mutually.”
ORLANDO — Tim Tucker thought his days as a PGA Tour caddie were over after he parted ways with his former boss, Bryson DeChambeau, abruptly on the eve of a tournament in 2021. Their split came only a few months after DeChambeau bashed his way to a win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
One of the closest player-caddie relationships on Tour is that of Jordan Spieth and his caddie Michael Greller. The pair have worked together since 2011, during which time Spieth has won three Majors.
As Scheffler's caddie, Scott is making a base salary of $135,000 per season.
Johnson, a two-time major champion, won 24 times on the PGA Tour before signing a deal with LIV Golf, which reportedly guaranteed him as much as $150 million. He won LIV Golf's tournament outside Boston in September and earned another $35.6 million in purses and bonuses in the circuit's inaugural season.
"If I fire a few in the water, I might start asking," he said. Gore said caddies he's used in the past generally put about a dozen balls in his bag. One day, one of his past caddies requested that they pack only three sleeves.
Caddies may not walk on greens when checking hole locations, nor may they interfere with play, during Championship rounds. Caddies are only allowed on the practice putting greens to retrieve chip shots or long putts, provided that the putting green is not crowded.
Paying for all expenses related to your job comes with being an independent contractor. This means professional golfers pay for their airfare, meals, lodging, tournament entry, and more. Multiply many of those costs by two to pay for a caddie.
PGA Tour caddies get paid between $1,500 and $3,000 a week.
However, the salary of each player's caddie is determined by negotiations between the player and caddie. For example, some caddies may lobby to have more of their pay in guaranteed salary, while others may opt for a more performance-based salary.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Joe LaCava is moving on. After 12 years working for Tiger Woods, a good bit of it waiting on the sideline for him to return from various injuries, LaCava has taken a full-time job caddying for Patrick Cantlay.
Zalatoris suffered two herniated discs in his back during the FedExCup Playoffs last year, right after the first win of his career. This caused him to miss the final two playoff events and the entire fall swing until he played at the Sentry Tournament of Champions.
On Sunday evening, hall of fame caddie Stevie Williams announced he was coming out of retirement in order to rejoin forces with Adam Scott for a select few events in 2023.