The annual Bruce Edwards Memorial Caddie Competition hardly ever disappoints. Aside from the charitable component — players and caddies alike donate money to a fund that is then matched by the PGA Tour and donated to the Bruce Edwards Foundation for ALS Research — the pros and their loops usually have side action on whether or not the caddies can find dry land on the famous 17th hole’s island green at TPC Sawgrass. If they do, typically the player carries the bag to the green.
The Association of Professional Tour Caddies documented the day at the 17th on Twitter. Hunter Mahan’s caddie, Jon Yarbrough, was this year’s champion, sticking his shot to 5’3″.
5’3″ for @jylooper!! The crowd here loved it. #InsideHunters #CaddyCompetition @HunterMahan @THEPLAYERSChamp pic.twitter.com/m4bHa3PKZb
— The APTC (@TheAPTC) May 11, 2016
And just in case you think it was a lucky shot by a hack golfer, remember the Craig Stadler story about going up to a rookie on the range, “You see the guy next to you, and the guy next to him? Every one of them, All-Americans… hell, some of these caddies were All-American…nobody here gives a damn if you’re All-American, or even if you went to college at all. All anybody here wants to know is can you play stick?”
Many of the caddies you see on the PGA Tour nowadays are scratch golfers or better and have kicked the tires on a professional career themselves, so this prize — 17th-hole painting by Casey Jones, a PGA Tour scoring official, a money clip, a clubhouse parking pass for the week and an undisclosed sum of cash, according to Golfweek.com — is no gimme.
Here’s how the top-5 shook out. You better believe these loopers could sell these shots down the stretch on Sunday for a good sum of money.
1. Jon Yarbrough (Hunter Mahan), 5 feet, 3 inches
2. Chris Berry (Alex Cejka), 6 feet, 3 inches
2. Michael Zuleua (Steve Wheatcroft), 6 feet, 3 inches
4. Julien Trudeau (Graham DeLaet), 7 feet, 3 inches
5. Sean McDonagh (Andy Sullivan), 8 feet, 6 inches
Here are some highlights from the day, via the APTC.
And the #FanFave @michael_greller!! Success!! #CaddyCompetition #THEPLAYERS #APTC pic.twitter.com/9u9F6LZ1rm
— The APTC (@TheAPTC) May 11, 2016
High expectations for @projock. On the green but left. Won’t be in the lead. pic.twitter.com/b3NMQW0P2x
— The APTC (@TheAPTC) May 11, 2016
Not bad for @Jules_Trudeau. 7’3″ moves into 2nd place. #CaddyCompetition #THEPLAYERS #APTC pic.twitter.com/B04pLdklTC
— The APTC (@TheAPTC) May 11, 2016
Masters Champ carrying his own bag after caddy, Jonathan Smart, hit it inside of him on 17 during Caddy Competition pic.twitter.com/P4uxPpmHxP
— Patrick Goss (@patgossnugolf) May 11, 2016
[h.t Golfweek.com, APTC]
