In March of 1999 the first World Golf Championship event was played in Carlsbad in California when the then Accenture Match Play was played at La Costa Resort and Spa.

While the intent of the introduction of the World Golf Championships was clear, namely to bring the elite of the game worldwide together on a more regular basis, very few would have seen the success the concept has become and the internationalisation of the game that has resulted.

The result that very first year was perhaps a promoters nightmare with Jeff Maggert and Andrew Magee fighting out an admittedly close final (38 holes) but hardly one that stimulated the golfing public.

Tiger Woods was defeated in the quarter-finals that week, defeated by Maggert at that stage leaving the much-hyped event with a flat feeling come the final.

Much has changed since that time however with so many of the game’s best having won the event, including Tiger Woods on three occasions, and the format having changed to include a round robin component in more recent times on the opening three days.

To a large extent, however, is that so many internationals have been able to experience the PGA Tour and to compete against the world’s best thus allowing them access to the big time and take their games and careers to a new level. Mission accomplished therefore in terms of the World Golf Championship’s initial goals.

This year’s event, the Dell Technologies Match Play, is played at the Peter Dye designed Austin Country Club in Austin in Texas, the venue being used for the third occasion after Dustin Johnson’s victory last year and Jason day’s win in 2016

Sixteen groups of four players will face off against each other in the Round Robin phase before the leading player from each group advances to the round of 16 on Saturday morning and onwards to the final on Sunday afternoon.

Those groups are each headed by the 16 leading ranked players the balance of each group made up of randomly selected players one from each of three pools of varying world ranking positions.

The winner’s purse has also changed, this year’s champion taking home US$1.7 million of the total purse of US$10 million.

The three seeded players missing from the field wjo would have otherwise led groups are Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Henrik Stenson, Rose and Stenson in particular in very good form at present. Rose feels the event does not offer the sort of feedback he needs ahead of The Masters, Stenson not a fan of the Round Robin format and Koepka out with injury issues.

With the re-emergence of Woods and McIlroy in recent weeks the game’s leading players at present Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas and John Rahm have slipped a little in terms of their profile but all three are playing well enough in recent weeks for a win here to be very much on the cards.

Johnson has only made it into the round of 16 just three times in eight starts but is in fine form and having won the event at this venue last year his chances look good.

Thomas has struggled in this event in his two appearances but there is little doubting just how good he is and he is more then capable of turning that record around.

Rahm was beaten in last year’s final by Johnson and has played well enough of late to suggest he could go one better this year. He might not be quite at the peak he was earlier in the year, but he is still playing well and appears a good chance.

Paul Casey is a proven match player with several good finishes in this event and a win at the World Match Play earlier in his career.

Now that Rory McIlroy has found form he is expected to be a force to be reckoned with this week. He has won this event previously and been runner-up.

Australians in the field are Jason Day, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith. Adam Scott was eligible for the event but has decided not to play.

Day is a two time winner in very good form in 2018, Leishman has made it to the round of 16 on two occasions and did finish 7^th at Bay Hill last week while Smith gets his chance in the event for the first time.

The Japan Tour heads to the Gifuseki Country Club’s East Course in Gifu to the north of Nagoya for the ¥200 million Japan Open an event which Australians have won on only two occasions.

Craig Parry in 1997 and Paul Sheehan in 2006 are those Australians and although another four will get their chance this week none are playing at the level where a win is expected.

Brad Kennedy, Brendan Jones, Adam Bland and Todd Sinnott will take to the fairways of this venue which is being used for the first occasion. They will be joined by New Zealander Michael Hendry who will look to join David Smail as the only other New Zealander to win the title. Smail won in 2002 but is no longer playing on the Japan Golf Tour.

Brad Kennedy leading the Australians in Japan this year

Hideki Matsuyama would have been the defending champion but he is playing in the PGA Tour event in Malaysia this week and the favouritism is likely to go to the leading money winners this season Yusaku Miyazato, Shugo Imahira and Satoshi Kodaira.

There has been a lot of talk of late about rules and the signing of scorecards and the impact both are having on the game, several high profile incidents ensuring discussion on these issues and possible remedies continues.

While the incident I am about to relate is not quite in the category of those of Lexi Thompson (ANA Inspiration) or Dustin Johnson (US Open) it was significant at the time and for me a little bit of a gut-wrencher and may be of interest to golf lovers.

In the 1975 Dunlop Masters at the fabulous Ganton Golf Club near Scarborough in England I was caddying for Australian Graham Marsh who was playing just his sixth tournament of the year in Europe having focused much of his attention in Japan earlier in the year.

Marsh had recorded several good finishes in Europe that year when he did play however including a runner-up finish in Sweden and a 6^th place finish at the Open Championship just two behind the playoff between the winner Tom Watson and Jack Newton. He would therefore start as one of the favourites to win the Dunlop Masters and further enhance his growing reputation in world golf.

It was early October and a week ahead of the Piccadilly World Match Play at Wentworth where Marsh was scheduled to play Tom Watson in the opening round.

Marsh had arrived into Scarborough later than would normally be the case in the preparation for an event of this nature having played the Japan Open the previous week and had little time for preparation ahead of the opening round which in those days in events such as these were played on Wednesdays.

In that opening round conditions were demanding, in fact Marsh’ opening round of 70 gave him a one-shot lead over South Africa’s Dale Hayes, at least at that stage.

Ganton’s back nine holes contain two very similar par fours and, unbeknown to Marsh, his playing partner in round one and the man signing his card, David Chillas of Scotland, has recorded a birdie 3 where Marsh had actually had a par and a 4 where he had in fact birdied and so while the total added up to the correct amount of 70, that the scores had been transposed and signed for would mean Marsh would be disqualified.

Interestingly, Marsh did not find out until later in the evening. A diligent golf journalist back in the media centre had been looking over the scores well after play had finished for the day and compared the scores as they had come in from the course and those on Marsh’s actual signed card and noticed the discrepancy.

The journalist called Marsh at his hotel and explained the situation. Marsh headed back to the course and when he discovered and confirmed what had happened he had no alternative but to disqualify himself.

Chillas was mortified when he found out but Marsh sought him out the following morning to assure him that it was his (Marsh’s) responsibility to check the scores and there were no hard feelings.

I had been staying in accommodation other than those in which Marsh was staying and in an era where there were no mobile phones or any other real means of contacting each other, as such, I was still unaware when I headed to the golf course early the following morning to get the pin positions for round two.

Back then caddies were still required to carry out their own survey each day to determine where the pins were cut. Now, of course, that information is provided to all and sundry as, with so many professional caddies involved in the modern day, the traffic on the golf course early each day would be intolerable if all were required to chase their own pin positions.

As I walked past an early opening news agency that morning I noticed the headline on a billboard which read ‘Marsh disqualified’.

It took a while to register that the headline was referring to Graham but once I had and read the full story I headed back to my own bed and breakfast lodgings before going to visit Graham.

It was disappointing as Graham had played beautifully on a tough and demanding day and on a layout with which he was essentially unfamiliar only to lose out to the stroke of a pencil.

I felt sorry for Graham, for David Chillas and of course myself and before long Graham and his wife and myself headed south to Wentworth to get in some early practice for the World Match Play.

I had my first caddying gig at the inaugural Otago Charity Classic in Dunedin in New Zealand when I managed to get the bag of New Zealand’s then rising star, John Lister as a result of my sister being a good friend of John’s sister.

In 1970, at the age of 17, and as what I thought was a reasonable player at the time, it was an unbelievable opportunity and thrill. I had read up many books and as many articles as I could get my hands on (there was obviously no internet at that time to assist in that regard) in order that I would not make a fool of myself or make any stupid mistakes.

I had actually prepared my own yardage book based on information I had read in one of those articles and was delighted when first meeting John and showing him what I had done that he was impressed and actually relied (perhaps foolishly) on the information he got from me for assessing yardages.

Caddying for John Lister circa 1973

When he asked me at the end of that week if I was interested in coming to work for him in Hastings at the then Watties tournament the following week I jumped at the chance and my destiny in the game was set and I guess that earlier preparation for the Dunedin event had paid off.

For the next twenty five or so years, on and off and in various parts of the world, I caddied in around 160 events in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Europe and the US and for the winners of seventeen of those events which I suppose could be considered a reasonable strike rate.

1975 Open Championship at Carnoustie

As my media career developed through the 2000’s I was privileged to witness first hand many tournaments and as a sometimes on course commentator and golf journalist I got to see in an up close and personal manner the changes in the role of the caddy and the information made available in more recent times compared to that available for much of my early days in the role.

The two most significant changes in that regard, putting far greater reimbursement aside, are the yardage book and the availability of pin positions. Pin positions or new holes were cut fresh for each round and their location played a key role on decision making.

In earlier times pin positions had to be sourced by physically going out on to the course and getting the pins yourself. That would sometimes mean caddies sharing the daily ritual of an early morning rise to get out ahead of play and actually pace the greens to get the pins.

The information was usually jealously guarded although sometimes a mutual understanding between caddies staying together in the same ‘digs’ might mean a sharing of the load in that I might get the pins one day and someone else might get them the next.

It often involved a very early rise and there were times where, after a night out, it was hard to drag oneself out of bed to get to the course.

Caddying in the 1974 German Open playoff between Simon Owen and Peter Oosterhuis

Soon after that, a rule was introduced where caddies were not allowed on greens ahead of play and so you could walk alongside the green and assess the distance from the front of the green but could not walk on the green.

As that level of information became more and more a requirement for a caddy to acquire and as prizemoney grew it became important for a caddy to have that information and so more and more caddies were walking the course.

Eventually the penny dropped and tournament officials began providing pin positions on the first tee to players and caddies thereby reducing any advantage, reducing the number of caddies out on the course before play and making it an even playing field for all in that regard. It also made life a lot easier for those that had been conscientious in acquiring the information the old way.

A couple of memorable instances I remember while getting pin positions. At the 1975 Dunlop Masters at Ganton in Yorkshire, Graham Marsh, who I was caddying for, led after the first round and while on my way to the golf course early the following morning, diligently in search of the pins for that day, I noticed, at around 6.00am, a board outside a newspaper shop with the headline ‘Marsh disqualified’.

I could not get my head around it initially and thought it must have related to something other than golf but sure enough on further investigation it went on to say Graham Marsh had inadvertently signed an incorrect scorecard and was out of the event while leading. His scores on two holes on the back nine had been transposed by the golfer marking Marsh’s card and while his overall score added up to the same total there was no choice but for him to be disqualified.

A more enjoyable memory was when Gary Player’s then caddy, Alfie Fyles, and I were out separately on the eve of the 1973 Piccadilly World Match Play final at Wentworth in Surrey getting pins for the next day as they had cut the holes in the evening after the semi-finals. As those who have been to Wentworth would know, it is very linear in design and takes some walking to get every pin position.

above and below 1973 World Match Play

With darkness closing in I saw Alfie and we both agreed to share whatever pin positions the other had not already secured and it was a nice moment ahead of what the next day would be a torrid battle. It also saved us about an hour’s work and we headed off to the local pub in Virginia Water for dinner and a pint.

At St Andrews in the middle of the summer I recall getting pin positions at 10.00pm one evening for the third round of the Scottish Open there in 1973 as with so much light to late in the evening getting that information on the way home from dinner made more sense than getting up in the small hours of the morning to do so. The positions or indicators had already been set.

Yardage books have changed dramatically over the years. From the early days of doing your own by pacing yardages from various points on the fairway to the front of the green and to other points of strategic interest to the stage where the surveyors wheel became the popular means of getting more accurate distances to now when the books are so amazingly detailed via laser measurement, not only in terms of yardages but in the information provided around and on the green.

A page from a recent yardage book

The quality of the information available to all now has to some extent neutralised the harder working caddie but there are still those who shine due to their preparedness to go above and beyond the call of duty in securing the point of difference information needed to give their man (or woman) an advantage.

Given the background I have had, many people ask how to get into caddying and what exactly makes a good caddy. My response to the latter is that if you have the information at your fingertips at all times then how much of a role you play will be dependent on how much your boss wants from you.

Different players require different input and clearly the longer you work for someone typically the more they will rely on from you. If however you are performing the role your player wants, irrespective of how much or how little they require from you, you are a good caddy.

The easiest way to get a start in caddying is to find a way to get into the system. Once you are in there then it is surprising how opportunities will come your way.

Start with a young player at a tour school or at a lesser event such as a Tier 2 event here in Australia and see what develops. You might end up with the player you started with who could develop into a very good player but if other players witness your capabilities and demeanour and are interested then you might just be asked.

The caddy network can also be helpful so make friends with some of the others already working the tour and keep your eyes and ears open. Typically, however, you need to be inside the system however to take advantage of these opportunities when they arise.

Contact a tournament and just be proactive in getting a start. It could lead to something very special and a lifetime of opportunity.