Tour News
What it’s like to caddy for a player who wins a Web.com Tour event
In case you missed it, a pair of incredible things happened on the Web.com Tour last week at the El Bosque Mexico Championship. Wesley Bryan, one-half of the Bryan Bros trick-shot duo, won his second event in six starts on the tour. And he did it not with his brother, George, on the bag, but with Callaway’s Social Media Manager, Chad Coleman, carrying his sticks.
Related: The clubs Bryan used to win in Mexico
Chad was kind enough to chat with us about his wild weekend cleaning clubs and calculating yardages, rather than creating content and calculating character counts. How did Coleman find himself in Mexico carrying a golf bag? Thanks to the power of social media, coincidentally enough. I asked him how he landed the gig.
How exactly did you ended up on Wesley’s bag at the El Bosque Mexico Championship for those who haven’t heard?
Yeah, it was pretty crazy how it happened. Wesley’s brother, George, couldn’t caddie for him that week, because he was Monday qualifying for the event the following week in Indiana. And so literally without even talking to me about it first, he sent out a tweet that said, “If this gets 100 retweets then Chad will caddie for me next week in Mexico,” or something like that.
Then he called Harry [Arnett, Callaway’s SVP of Marketing and Brand Management], got his approval, and made sure I could be out of the office. And THEN he texted me and said, “Pack your sunscreen. You’re coming to Mexico next week.” So at that point, I really didn’t have another choice.
Any previous experience looping, or competing in tournament golf?
I’ve definitely competed in a few tournaments before, but never have caddied on a professional level. So this was entirely new to me. Luckily, I got there in time to caddie for the Wednesday Pro-Am, so I could get the hang of it a bit before the competition started.
What was the toughest part of the gig?
Well, the good thing is that Wesley is a very self-sufficient player. He likes to read most of his own putts (and rightfully so — he’s one of the best putters out there), so the main things I focused on were keeping his clubs and grips clean and getting the right yardages for his tee and approach shots. We were at 6,000-feet elevation so the ball was going forever, so I had to learn how to factor that in plus the wind, slope of the hole, where we wanted to land the ball on the green, etc.
Do you have a new respect for pro loopers, and beyond that, pro golfers?
One-hundred percent. It’s a very tough job and pro caddies (and players, for that matter) don’t get nearly enough credit. It’s a grind out there, and is both physically and mentally exhausting. On Monday morning, when I was sitting in the airport, I was SO glad to be coming back home to my own bed and my normal routine. I was wiped out.
And to think that Wesley was going straight to Indiana to do the same thing all over again was pretty eye-opening. Don’t get me wrong — it’s incredibly fun out there. But it’s not as easy as people may think.
Wesley is obviously a friend of yours. What was it like working with him on course?
I think that was one of the big advantages we had out there, the fact that we are good friends on a personal level. We had a blast both on and off the course all week, and the fact that we were so comfortable around each other helped keep both of us calm and focused on the golf course. Wes is a big fan of the Biebs, so on the rare occasion he missed a shot, I would liven the mood with some horrible singing. We had a great time.
What the heck was it like being in contention and eventually winning on Sunday?
I was DEFINITELY more nervous than he was, both on the day he tied the course record with a 63 on Friday and when we had a three-shot lead standing on the 18th tee on Sunday. I was incredibly impressed with his demeanor the entire week.
And so yeah, on Sunday I really just tried to stay out of his way as much as I could. He was in the zone. The first time I really felt relief on Sunday was on the 18th green. He was reading his 6-foot birdie putt from the opposite side of the hole and I stepped in behind the ball just to confirm the line. I was looking down at the break for a few seconds — nervous as could be — then looked up at Wes, who was just staring at me with a huge grin on his face. It was at that point that it really sunk in that we were about to win this thing.
This has to be doubly surreal for you, since you’ve known the Bryan Bros since they were making trick-shot videos. Wesley comes out, qualifies for the Web.com Tour, wins two of his first six events, and is now heading to the PGA Tour. How crazy is that?
Yeah, it’s unreal. To think about how far he has come since we first signed him a year and a half ago is just ridiculous. I know how hard he works at his game, so to see him succeed like this is very gratifying for both me and everyone here at Callaway.
I’m not sure how many caddies have won in their professional debuts, but I assume you’re going to pull a Jim Brown and go out on top?
That’s right. I’m hanging up the bib.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludwig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
GolfWRX is on site in the Lone Star State this week for the Texas Children’s Houston Open.
General galleries from the putting green and range, WITBs — including Thorbjorn Olesen and Zac Blair — and several pull-out albums await.
As always, we’ll continue to update as more photos flow in. Check out links to all our photos from Houston below.
General Albums
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Monday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #2
- 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open – Tuesday #3
WITB Albums
- Thorbjorn Olesen – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ben Silverman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jesse Droemer – SoTX PGA Section POY – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- David Lipsky – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Martin Trainer – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Zac Blair – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Jacob Bridgeman – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Trace Crowe – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Daniel Berger – WITB(very mini) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Chesson Hadley – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Callum McNeill – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Rhein Gibson – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Patrick Fishburn – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Peter Malnati – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Raul Pereda – WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Gary Woodland WITB (New driver, iron shafts) – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Padraig Harrington WITB – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
Pullout Albums
- Tom Hoge’s custom Cameron – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Piretti putters – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Ping putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Kevin Dougherty’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Bettinardi putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Cameron putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Erik Barnes testing an all-black Axis1 putter – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
- Tony Finau’s new driver shaft – 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Bill Mac
May 9, 2016 at 6:34 pm
Love it.
Zachary Jurich
Apr 29, 2016 at 8:48 pm
It would be cool if more web.com guys did stuff like this. I would kill to loop for a golfer that can actually hit it where you tell them.
Jonathan Daily
Apr 29, 2016 at 11:00 am
Some people say you should continue to post…but most of us know they are fools also.
MRC
Apr 28, 2016 at 4:56 pm
Great read!
You guys are money.
Other Paul
Apr 28, 2016 at 2:13 pm
Great story!