The Players Championship Caddie Competition

The caddie closest to the pin competition is always popular amongst spectators

The Players Championship Caddie Competition takes place in Wednesday practice on the day before the tournament starts and it's all for a good cause.

The Players Championship Caddie Competition

Each year during Wednesday practice for the Players Championship the 'Caddie Closest to the Pin' competition takes place on the infamous island-green 17th hole on TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course.

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The competition is named in honour of Tom Watson's long-time caddie Bruce Edwards who sadly died in 2004 from the ALS disease.

The winning caddie also gets their own VIP parking spot in the TPC Sawgrass car park for the four competition days as well as their name engraved into a plaque in hospitality.

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Last year, Pat Perez's caddie Michael Hartford won the Closest to the Pin competition with an impressive effort to 3' 7".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDnIui_VZdo

Shawn Stefani's caddie Chris Callas won the contest in 2014, hitting his shot to 7' 8".

Of the 92 caddies that took part last year, 50 of them hit it into the water.

The Players Championship by the numbers

Mark Wilson's caddie Chris Jones holds the record for his effort that finished up 1'4" away from the hole in 2005.

Rickie Fowler defends the Players Championship this week after his record finish last year where he played the final six holes in six-under-par before beating Kevin Kisner in a sudden-death play-off after a 3-hole aggregate play-off with Kisner and Sergio Garcia.

Elliott Heath
News Editor

Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He covered the 2022 and 2025 Masters from Augusta National and was there by the 18th green to watch Rory McIlroy complete the career grand slam. He has also covered five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews.