After his pro-am round ahead of last week’s LIV Golf Team Championship in Miami, Brooks Koepka spoke about how everyone from players to caddies and coaches to managers have enjoyed their time on the upstart series in its first year.
“It’s been fun to see a lot more smiles on people’s faces. I think everyone’s genuinely happy,” said Koepka at Trump National Doral after his round with the club’s namesake and former President of the United States, Donald Trump. “I think the way there’s food for the caddies, the way they’re treated like human beings, I think that’s nice as well, because I’ve seen both sides, and not everybody’s seen both sides.”
The four-time major champion used the same line on caddies being treated like human beings back in September, and while it’s an unfair, indirect comparison to how the PGA and DP World tours treat caddies, there is a stark difference in a looper’s experience with LIV compared to on the various tours.
“You feel more included. The little stuff, like just being able to go into the player dining and eat, and my wife can go in there and hang out and they let her go in all the Club 54’s and get some air conditioning and get a snack, stuff like that,” said Austin Johnson, brother and caddie for LIV’s season-long champion and 24-time winner on Tour, Dustin Johnson. “The Tour was great to us, it was a great place to work, LIV is just better quality of work for caddies.”
“I’m the most-spoiled caddie in the history of golf, don’t get me wrong,” he continued, “but like a lot of these guys, to have all the expenses paid for, to show up to work and know they’re gonna get a paycheck, it’s life changing. It really is.
“I’m not trying to talk bad about the PGA Tour, I’m just trying to highlight how great it is out here. I sound like a spoiled little kid but it’s just nice to be done with the round and I can go sit up in the air conditioning, have lunch with Dustin, have a decent meal versus walking over to some tent and hoping there’s food in there.”
Travel. Hotel. Shuttles. Food. It’s all covered by LIV. On the other tours, those caddie expenses come out of their own pocket. If you and your player miss the cut, you’re leaving empty-handed. That life-and-death weekly grind isn’t for the faint of heart, and LIV’s 54-hole, no-cut events make for a much more relaxed vibe and work environment on the course.
“I think it’s just different out here,” said…
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