Portrush, northern Ireland – around PortraitEveryone is asking the same question: have you heard of Geno and Joel?
And surely at Barracuda Championship (opposite Field PGA Tour this week) and the pricing prices championship (Korn Ferry Stop), the conversation will be almost the same.
If that wedding caddie-player-geno bonnalie entertained and fun in the bag, Joel Dahmen, Golf of Rangut 172 on the world list of golf rankings-Can’t get happily ride in Sunset Senar Tour, what hope is there for a similar PGA Tour union? And not just play-caddie. We are also talking-teacher of the player. Also player-psychologist, player-coward, player-agent, player and… Ceremony Partner Opening the Ryder Cup!
But J. & G., it stops you cold. They looked so happy in the netflix show. Or not?
You would think that all the money in the PGA Tour would now make the caddie-player relationship safer than ever. gamers AND Caddies are so evolved in their thinking, you will imagine that they are all experts in conflict resolution, “best practices” practices and the rest. But no. It is a mined field there.
Dechambeau: How to be strategic in the open championship
Max Homa (OWGR 101) and Joe Greiner: chatty.
Collin Morikawa (Owgr 6) and JJ Jakovic: excessive.
English/Sketchers Guy Matthew Fitzpatrick (OWGR 59) and English/Seve Impersonator Billy Foster: “irreversible breakdown”, to use British term for uncomfortable differences.
Oh, Tom Kim (60) and Paul Tesori. Their common religious values united them. The best placement may have saved the union.
Returning last year, and mainly because the cades are so famous that they can only travel to the world in their nicknames: Justin Thomas and Jim “Bones” Mackay were friendly, as well as Jim Furyk and Mike “Fluff” Cowan.
Dedicated students of Bonnens Bromance recognizes some of the famous Netflix moments of their relationship, like Dahmen, who has been in the mid -30s forever (he is 37) by saying Bonnalie Middlight, “I love you.”
Again, the best setting may have saved the thing.
No one knows.
Indeed, you can’t. Just as you can never really say why these relationships do not last forever. They never do. You are tempted to say that the player always has the upper hand in these relationships. But there was a lot of high-profile caddie-player relationships, where Caddy really left before being fired. Steve Williams was, effectively, seeking to be fired when he worked for Adam Scott at US Open 2011, at a time when his regular player, Tiger Woods, was not playing due to injury. Bruce Edvard left Tom Watson for Greg Norman for money – and later regretted it. To some extent, there are profound conflicts and discontent in most of these long-standing players-caddie relationships. Even with Seve Ballesteros and his Caddiing brothers, this was the case. Neither Dahmen nor Bonnalie have said very publicly about this division, except for the fact that happened. Dahmen is not playing this week, but he confirmed the Dan Rapaport’s split of Scratch Golf, himself a stage star (the memorable interviews of Tiger Woods) and Screen (Full pace appearances).
Caddy’s role has been funny-sized in the last 20 years, partly because Golf Channel has so many hours of broadcasting, and the relationship of players-caddie gives the broadcasters one thing to talk about. On Arnold Palmer day, at Jack Nicklaus, in Tom Watson, things were different. Those players, in their premiums, had a caddy for their open British appearances and another for when playing in masters. In the mid -1970s, there were a small piece of summer tournaments, including US Open, The Western Open, PGA Championship and The Westchester Classic, where tournament players were required to receive local club cadets, usually high school children and college. Those days are over. Caddy is now an elementary part of the team while he or she does not. Golf Channel may have a show called While the kadi yard returns. Michael Grecler and Jordan Spieth can offer valuable stories of one season.
So Joel Dahmen, trying to find one of the few trains in the north on the OWGR list for a 37-year-old golf player, and his caddy, Geno Bonnalie, are Kaput. For now. Caddies and players sometimes split and come back together. It happened before. Bruce Edvard and Tom Watson were reunited after the short Edvard-Norman experiment. Raymond Floyd fired Adolphus “Golf Ball” hull four times. Floyd’s wife, Marie, hired her again five. Relationships oppose science and logic.
Xander Schauffle won last year’s British Open with Austin Kaiser as his cadet. They have been together throughout their pro Schauffle career and they were college friends in San Diego State going back in 2011. Near the end of a press conference on Tuesday, Gabby Herzig, noticing the various Caddie-Player divisions, Schauffle asked about Kaiser.
“I’m sorry this time occasionally, but I told Austin that he would never be fired for something he tells me,” Schauffle said. “This was a mistake.”
The tent laughed together, but of course there is often a germ of truth in every funny comment.
“There are many variables in Golf,” Schauffe said. “Austin is a great guy, a great caddy. He’s one of my best friends. I think, if you can keep your cada as constant, it’s an advantage.”
Until it is.
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments on Michael.bamberger@golf.com.
“>>
;)
Michael Bamberger
Golf.com contributor
Michael Bamberger writes for Golf Magazine and Golf.com. Before that he spent nearly 23 years as an elderly writer for Sports Illustrated. After the college, he worked as a reporter of the newspaper, first for (Martha’s) Vineyard newspaper, later Philadelphia Inquirer. He wrote a variety of books for golf and other subjects, the most recent of which is Tiger Woods’ second life. His magazine’s work is presented in numerous editions of the best American sports writing. He holds an American patent on E-CLUB, a Golf of Service Club. In 2016, he was awarded the Donald Ross award from the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the highest honor of the organization.
