Who Is Rickie Fowler’s Caddie?

Who Is Rickie Fowler’s Caddie?

In 2022 Rickie Fowler's bag situation has changes. He did have long-time caddie Joe Skovron on the bag but before the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs, the two parted ways and Fowler brought Ben Schomin, Tour Operations Manager for Fowler's leading sponsor, Cobra Puma Golf, onto his bag. We are yet to confirm if this partnership as any permanence but if we had to guess, it won't be and Schomin will be replaced soon. As soon as this happens we will update this page. 

"It was a team decision," Fowler told the Associated Press. "Decided to go different ways. It could be the best option currently. By no means does this mean it's the end of the road. He's like a big brother to me."

"It is different," Fowler told the AP. "In 13 years, there's been only one other week, my rookie year, when I had someone else on the bag. One of our assistants from Oklahoma State, Donnie Darr, he caddied for me at the Memorial. Outside of that, Joe has been my guy."

After shooting 65 in the opening round of the FedEx St Jude Championship, Fowler was asked if the new caddie setup played any part. He said; "It was going to be more about me taking ownership and putting more of a workload on myself and more accountability. I still had plenty of his voice and one-liners and stuff in my head, so he [Skovron] wasn't on the bag, but he was definitely present."

This termination of the Fowler-Skovron partnership was a surprising one. Skovron grew up in Murrieta, which is a town in the State of California. He played college golf at the University of La Verne and is also a former college golf coach. More importantly however, Skovron is a lifelong friend of the American.

The career highlights they have shared together include: Fowler’s Ryder Cup debut back in 2010 at Celtic Manor, marching together during the Rio Olympic Opening Ceremony in 2016, a number of victories around the world and several top finishes in Major Championships.

In an interview with the Journal of Excellence in issue number 14 in 2011, when Skovron was asked about the relationship between himself and Fowler he said, “I don’t think I would be a caddie just for the pay cheque.

"I think having an emotional investment in the person and really caring about them and their success is important rather than just the basics you get from their success. The big caddie/player partnerships that you can think of or that you look at have become friends and whether they were friends before or become friends after I think the relationship is an important part in the trust factor and knowing that your caddie has your back in any circumstance.“

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Speaking to the Caddie Network, Skovron gave some more detail on his family and how he got into golf;

"My dad, Lou, is a PGA Life Member and has run golf courses and taught for around 50 years now. He grew up playing in Great Falls, Montana, and went on to be the MVP of the golf team at the University of San Diego, jumping into the golf business from there. He met my mom, Valarie, when he was working at Paradise Valley Country Club in Wyoming.

"I basically grew up at a golf course. I fell in love with the game at the age of nine and I spent every minute I could there. In the summers I would hang around all day practicing, playing, picking up range baskets, washing carts and annoying all the assistant pros. I played a full schedule of summer tournaments from the age of nine through college.

"I received a partial golf scholarship to UC Santa Barbara out of high school and transferred to the University of La Verne (Division III) after my first year. I played four years a ULV for coach Rex Huigens, where I was a two-time All-American, Academic All-American and SCIAC Player of the Year."

As we mentioned above, Skovron is no longer on Fowler's bag and we will update this page when we know who has come onto the American's bag soon.