Caddy Championship: fun for some, serious for Smash | Golf LIV

Told that Smash GC caddies were clearly the team to beat in Wednesday’s inaugural LIV Golf Caddy Team Championship, Elliott didn’t hesitate to take on the role of favorite.

“I would agree with that. Absolutely,” Elliott said. “I really don’t see anyone beating us.”

To make sure Elliott’s brash talk wasn’t just a devilish ruse, it was mentioned that Smash’s sidekicks seemed to take what others might consider a funny event seriously. “You’re right,” Elliott replied. “We thought about it a lot.”

Apparently. The game continues.

Caddies from 12 LIV Golf League teams will compete under the lights at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on Wednesday evening, a preview of the season-ending LIV Golf Jeddah, which begins with the first round on Friday. The Caddis will play with a back nine at Royal Greens in a four-a-side mixed format. Caddies will not need other caddies because they will use carts.

The winning team’s caddies receive their trophies during a podium ceremony after the round. There is no official amount, but rumors from earlier this week suggest that LIV Golf players may invest a few riyals to improve their score. There may or may not be a betting line. Things are a bit quiet at the moment.

Some people take a carefree approach.

“How do I feel about this? I hardly play golf anymore,” said Malcolm Baker, caddy of RangeGoats GC star Talor Gooch. “At 53 years old, this body doesn’t do much good after 20 years of caddying. But I think it will be fun.”

Others are a bit more intense.

“I won’t lie, I practiced a lot before this happened,” said Austin Johnson, Dustin’s brother and Caddy captain at 4Aces GC. “It’s my only tournament of the year, so I won’t come in with half-hearted effort.”

As for pre-tournament favorite Smash, the four expect to repeat the performance that the Smash GC team achieved last year, winning the LIV Golf Invitational Jeddah team title, while Brooks also claimed the individual title, defeating then-teammate Peter in the third round Uihlein hole in the play-offs.

The Smash lineup includes Matthew Wolff’s caddies, Nick Heinen, Wolff’s Oklahoma State teammates, and a one-time professional developmental player; Jason Kokrak’s caddie, David Robinson, who also played at development events and mini tours; Ryan Fricker, Chase Koepka’s caddy who played with Chase at the University of South Florida; and Elliott, Brooks’ long-time porter, who grew up in Portrush and once also pursued a professional life.

“Nick is a really good player – he hits it a mile,” Elliott said. “D-Rob, I haven’t seen him play much golf, but I think he’s pretty good from 100 yards. Chase’s caddy is a Challenge Tour player. He also moves it. So we have some straight hitters and some big bombers. This format really suits us.”

Whether the approach is fun or serious, the Caddy Team Championship reflects LIV Golf’s approach to those who work with and support players.

“LIV does a great job of incorporating caddies into everything it does,” Austin Johnson said. “They take great care of us here. This is just another example of what LIV does to make us feel part of the entire organization. I think it’s amazing.”

Elliott added: “They did an amazing job of engaging us and making us feel like family. This makes it more enjoyable for everyone because the caddies, coaches, players are involved and everyone stays in the same place.

This week, caddies will have the added benefit of not having to compete in the midday heat in Saudi Arabia. Royal Greens has an extensive lighting system, thanks to which the nine-hole competition can start at 8:00 p.m. local time.

When asked when the last time he played night golf, Austin Johnson replied, “Since I was a little kid, no. We had a lighted par-3 course that DJ and I went to as little kids. Our parents would send us there to get rid of us.

They have both come a long way since then. DJ enters this week as the defending individual champion and still has a long shot at repeating. Austin and his 4Aces hope to beat the much-loved Smash caddies on the world-class Red Sea course. But getting upset won’t be easy – if the word on the streets is to be believed.

CADDY TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS 2023

STARTING HOLE	TEAM	COMPOSITION
10A	GC CRUSHERS	Greg Bodine (DeChambeau), Mark Fulcher (Casey), Nick Jones (Howell), Tim Giuliano (Lahiri)
10-B	GC FIREBALLS	Glen Murray (Garcia), Benji Thompson (Ancer), Xabier Gorospe (Chacarra), Mike Kerr (Ortiz)
11	IRON HEADS GC	Kenny Harms (Na), Rene Smorenberg (Kim), Jacob Fleck (Vincent), Grant Bennett (Lee)
12	RANGEGOATS GC	Brandon Parsons (Watson), Malcolm Baker (Gooch), Adam Marrow (Pieters), Chris Rice (Varner)
13	BREAK GC	Ricky Elliott (B.Koepka), Ryan Fricker (C.Koepka), David Robinson (Kokrak), Nick Heinen (Wolff)
14-A	CLEEKS GC	Craig Connelly (Kaymer), James Walton (Bland), Ken Comboy (McDowell), Jamie Lane (Wiesberger)
14-B	GC MOMENT	Gary Matthews (Niemann), Alberto Sanchez (Puig), Scott McGuinness (Pereira), Jose Campra (Munoz)
15	MAJESTICKS GC	Terry Mundy (Poulter), Gareth Lord (Stenson), Mick Doran (Westwood), Mick Seaborn (Horsfield)
16	HYFLYERS GC	Andrew Getson (Mickelson), Dan Ellis (Piot), Jonathan Smart (Tringale), Christian Donald (Steele)
17	RIPPER GC	Sam Pinfold (Smith), Lance Bailey (Jones), Matty Kelly (Leishman), Rance De Grussa (Morgan)
18-A	4ACES GC	Austin Johnson (Johnson), Mike Hartford (Perez), Kessler Karain (Reed), Zach Guthrie (Uihlein)
18-B	STINGER GC	Wynand Stander as Oosthuizen, Clifford Botha as Grace, Attie Schwartzel as Schwartzel, Jason Reynolds as Burmester