"I was really reluctant," Mize said, "because I said, 'You've got a good job here, Jim, and I don't know if you really want to do this caddie thing. Mackay begged for the chance to pick up the bag. Mackay often shagged range balls for the 1987 Masters champion.Ī week before Mackay was supposed to start his career at Synovus Bank, Mize had broken up with his caddie after the 1989 season. While he played for Columbus (Ga.) College, Mackay worked at Green Island Country Club and befriended resident tour pro Larry Mize. That was another chapter with me falling in love with caddying, even though I'd never done it a day in my life." At one point his caddie said, 'There's that kid again.' And he spoke to me and was nice to me, and that was really cool. "He had this caddie named Big Money Griff (John Griffin). "I'd go to tournaments and watch Bill Rogers, because he was this skinny Texan and I was skinny," Mackay said. So I thought (Watson's caddie) Bruce Edwards had the coolest job in the world, and that's what got me thinking about caddying."Įdwards was one of the first men who redefined the role of the professional tour caddie, but it was another old-school caddie who impressed Mackay. "This was 1980, and he was a great player, and the way he carried himself. With Mackay, it started when he was a kid watching the caddies who got to share the space inside the ropes with his idols. How does a college graduate with a job offer to become a financial analyst end up carrying a 50-pound golf bag and stepping off yardage for a living? ![]() But do I think he would have been as successful without Jim? No way." "He was bound to be successful at anything he wanted to do in life. "Phil was successful before he met any of us," said Steve Loy, Mickelson's manager and former college coach who helped broker the partnership with Mackay. As easily as he can carry his 2 handicap to the world's most prestigious courses, such as Pine Valley and Cypress Point, he can lug lenses for photographers on the sidelines of a college football title game.Īnd he has been an invaluable sidekick to the three-time Masters champion. He is as comfortable mingling with presidents, celebrities and corporate executives as he is with fans, roadies and other caddies. Mackay's professionalism is the model of a modern tour caddie. "Jim takes those responsibilities as serious as anything he does in his life. "When you're in Jim's position, you're an employee, a friend, a psychologist - all of the above," said Rob Mangini, Mickelson's college roommate at Arizona State. The shoulder that isn't lugging Mickelson's Callaways is the one Lefty has leaned on through difficult times on and off the course. ![]() From the first time we've been together, I realized he was a great caddie, but over the years he's become a lot more than that." "I've been fortunate to have the same three throughout my career. "I think the three most important people in a golfer's life are their wife, their manager and their caddie," Mickelson said. Mickelson, 40, considers having Mackay by his side "one of the most fortunate things" to happen in his career and one of the keys to his success. I couldn't imagine either of them with anybody else. "They are quite a pair," said Mickelson's wife, Amy. Along the way, the lanky, 6-foot-4 man with the toothy grin is one of the most recognizable caddies on the PGA Tour. Mackay, 45, has carried Mickelson's bag since the day he turned pro in 1992, in 40 of his 41 worldwide wins and all four of his major titles. ![]() For almost 19 years, theirs has been a masterful partnership - Bones supplies the information and sometimes the voice of reason Mickelson supplies the skill and accepts the consequences, good or bad. ![]() The man everyone calls Bones is as much a friend as he is an employee for Mickelson. Do you, Jen and Oliver want to come?' " Mackay said. "He called on Tuesday and said, 'Hey, we're taking the kids to Disneyland. Was it to vent one more time about the dreaded double bogey that extended a career curse in the national open that Mickelson desperately wanted to win? Open meltdown at Winged Foot, Mickelson picked up the phone and called his left-hand man. If the strength of a relationship is measured by its darkest moments, Phil Mickelson and Jim "Bones" Mackay's friendship was built to last.
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