The 5 Worst, Most Bizarre Caddie Firings in PGA Tour History
Being a caddie for a professional golfer can be a rewarding career. It can also be a frustrating, humiliating, and mentally taxing job if a caddie is paired with the wrong golfer on the wrong day. While golf fans have probably heard many heartwarming stories about player-caddie relationships, other PGA Tour pairings end in terrible outbursts and embarrassing firings.
Let’s take a look at the five most bizarre caddie firings in PGA Tour history.
Robert Allenby replaced his caddie with a fan
In 2015, Robert Allenby made headlines during the Canadian Open. Allenby had a heated exchange when his caddie, Mick Middlemo, suggested the wrong club and the ball landed in a creek. Whether it was the caddie’s fault or not, Allenby voiced his displeasure in a profanity-laced exchange.
Middlemo was fired after the exchange. Meanwhile, a fan named Tom Fraser offered to carry the bag for the rest of the tournament. Allenby later withdrew from the competition, citing rattled nerves. Later, Allenby claimed Middlemo threatened him before exiting, causing the golfer to request extra security.
Jay Williamson got dumped by his own caddie
The 2007 Canadian Open began well for golfer Jay Williamson and caddie Mike Mollet. Williamson played well to start the first round, but his game declined as the day wore on. According to Mollet, Williamson began blaming him for the issues. When Williamson claimed the caddie gave him incorrect information about wind direction, Mollet told him to look at the flag. Williamson refused, and tensions boiled over.
According to ESPN, Mollet took every ball in Williamson’s bag, threw them in the water on the 15th hole, and told an official exactly what he’d done. The two never made up after the blowup.
D.A. Points’ caddie got fired via text
After missing the cut at a PGA Tour event in 2017, D.A. Points was sitting with his caddie, Mike Darby. Points decided to hit a few balls and asked Darby to film him. As the caddie held his golfer’s phone, a text arrived from Points’ wife. Depending on who you ask, the text either asked if Darby was fired yet or if Points had talked to Darby.
Either way, Darby saw the writing on the wall. The caddie told Points about the text, and the golfer acted dodgy. Eventually, it came out that Points was planning on switching caddies.
Danny Willett loses his caddie in the middle of a tournament
Danny Willett is responsible for one of the most shocking victories in golf history when he won the 2016 Masters. A year later, however, Willet found himself in an unusual position when he was fired by his own caddie, Jonathan Smart.
After Willett blamed the caddie for many of his recent struggles, Smart fought back, per the New York Post. Smart told Willett during the 2017 RBC Heritage that he was fed up with being his scapegoat and left on the first plane back to England. The pro golfer went on to miss the cut.
Rhein Gibson fires caddie using a putter cover
Rhein Gibson made headlines in 2018 on the Web.com Tour, which is now called the Korn Ferry Tour. Just one stroke behind the leader and tied for second place, Gibson hit a ball into the hazard and lodged it beneath two rocks. After it was clear he was not going to hit the ball, his caddie, Brandon Davis, picked the ball up. This resulted in a penalty drop, plus an additional penalty for “not getting consent,” per BBC.
The two penalties dropped Gibson into third place and cost him $16,000, so the golfer shouted at Davis and threw his putter cover at the caddie. Davis claimed he was fired on the spot, and video of the incident quickly went viral. Afterward, the caddie made a YouTube video and declared he did nothing wrong.
