Many people view the position as caddie as one of the best jobs in the world, however it’s much more effort than the common viewer actually thinks, especially as they act as part time psychologists and part time tacticians too, especially when it comes to competing in prestigious and difficult tournaments such as The Masters!
It’s well known that the professional golfers that find themselves competing in The Masters can earn a lot of money for winning, but do their Caddies earn much money for their part in competing and winning the competition?
If you want to know how much The Masters Winner’s caddie gets, then keep onwards, as we’ll break down all of the earnings a caddie gets when winning The Masters!
How Much Do Caddies Get Paid At The Masters?
When it comes to participating in The Masters, the caddies who accompany the pro golfers will typically negotiate a salary with the golfer they are caddying for throughout the tournament.
This rate is paid weekly, and can vary greatly, but the typical salary per week for a caddie is between $1,500 to $3,000 per tournament.
However, this isn’t the same for every caddie out there, as some of them are paid a yearly salary as a base, as well as their tournament bonuses based upon performance.
Of course it’s not as much as the golfers will earn, and whilst it still sounds like a lot of money to be earning, keep in mind that caddie’s will have to cover the expense of their accommodation, meals, and airfare throughout a tour.
However, when it comes to competing on a PGA tour, the caddies also receive a share of the prize money won by a golfer, and a similar compensation for caddies is also provided when competing at The Masters too.
Typically, when a golfer wins the tournament, they then give their caddie 10% of the purse, whereas those who finish amongst the Top 10 will usually give their caddies 7% of the prize money they receive.
For those who find themselves outside of the Top 10, their caddies will usually receive 5% of the prize money that they receive.
Do Caddies Get More Money If Their Player Wins?
So, you might be wondering, does the money a caddie receives increase should their player win the tournament? And the answer is yes!
Of course a caddie who’s player wins the tournament will receive more money than they usually would for generally competing.
For example, when the winner of the 2022 Masters Tournament, Scottie Scheffer, won, his caddie received a 10% of the overall purse, which means the caddie received $270,000, on top of his weekly salary.
So there’s absolutely no surprise as to why the caddies will often celebrate just as much as the golfers themselves when it comes to winning the tournament!
What Happens To The Caddies If Their Golfer Misses The Cut?
Whilst it mainly depends on the type of the agreement that the caddie and the golfer have, typically caddies will receive just their weekly salary when it comes to their player missing the cut.
When it comes to PGA Tour tournaments, players don’t receive any compensation at all if they miss the cut, but, this doesn’t mean that there aren’t some exceptions, and most of the major tournaments will pay all of the players on the field, regardless of whether they make the cut or not.
When it comes to The Masters, those who attend Augusta National all receive $10,000, even if they miss the cut, which is the same as those who compete in the U.S. Open.
Whereas the PGA Championship will only compensate players with a smaller amount of $3,100.
When the players who miss the cut receive this payout, they will usually take a 5% cut to give to their caddies.
Who Is The Highest Paid Caddy In Golf?
As you may have guessed from what we mentioned earlier, the highest paid player in the entirety of golf is the caddie of Scottie Scheffer, who’s name is Ted Scott, who you’ll always see manning the bags across each tournament for Scheffer.
Throughout the PGA Tour in 2022, Scheffer won four times, which includes wins at The Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Waste Management Phoenix Open, the WGC Dell Technologies Match Play, and of course, The Masters!
This dramatic rise in the performance of Scheffer has meant that Scott has earnt over $800,000 in bonuses in 2022, which goes alongside his $135,000 salary, so it’s fair to say that some golf caddies can earn quite a lot of money when it comes manning the bags for some of the best golfers around.
It is worth noting that not just any caddie will be able to earn this type of money when it comes to caddying for golfers, and it’s a job that actually requires quite a lot of skill and effort in order to help their golfers win professionally.
Not only do they carry around the bags for their golfer, but they also ensure that the bags are stocked with enough golf balls and tees for the course, but they also help by repairing divots in the course, as well as ranking the sand banks found across the course.
Summary
So, as you can see, caddies can earn a good amount of money, as they are usually provided with a weekly salary throughout the tournament, although they do have to cover all of their own expenses.
And depending on the performances of the golfer that they caddy for there’s always the potential to earn more.
The caddies for some of the best performing golfers in the sport will consistently reap in the benefits in the form of bonuses as a result of their golfer reaching the Top 10, or winning the tournament all together!
Hi, my name is Garratt Shmidt and I have been playing golf in my spare time for almost a decade.
Before I found a passion for golf, I didn’t see the appeal. I thought it was slow, repetitive, and quite frankly boring.
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