Brian Smallwood’s tenure as Michelle Wie’s ninth caddie lasted just one round as the 15-year-old opted to give the bag-carrying duties to her father on the second day of the Evian Masters.
Wie has already gone through an illustrious list of caddies, including Fanny Sunesson (Nick Faldo’s bag carrier for many of his six major titles) and Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan (who caddied Tiger Woods to his early triumphs and is now with Jim Furyk, I believe). Wie said that Smallwood had been replaced because there was “no chemistry” between them.
Annika Sorenstam, world number one and winner of the same number of majors as Wie has had caddies, but with only two caddies in 11 years, had wise words for the teenager: “Yardages and understanding the game are important, but it’s what you say in the tough moments that is vital,” she said. “If you only get 24 hours, it’s a hard job.”
Wie is 7 shots behind the leaders with two rounds to play.