Who Is Viktor Hovland's Caddie?

Who Is Viktor Hovland's Caddie?

Viktor Hovland's caddie is a man called Shay Knight. Knight has been a caddie for roughly 15 years now and before Hovland he worked with players like Matt Jones, Aron Price, DJ Trahan, Martin Laird, Chez Reavie, Jerry Kelly and Sean O’Hair. How he ended up on Hovland's bag is interesting. The Norwegian did have his Oklahoma State college coach Alan Bratton on the bag in early 2019 but as he looked to turn pro, he wanted a more permanent caddie in place.

After meeting Knight at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, the pair eventually formed a partnership thanks to the role of Rickie Fowler's caddie, Joe Skovron.

“Joe called me,” Knight told The Caddie Network. “It was no secret that Viktor would be turning pro at some point this year. Like Viktor, Rickie went to OSU – there’s a strong contingent of OSU guys on the PGA Tour and most are represented by the Wasserman Media Group, including Rickie and Viktor now. Joe asked me if I’d have any interest in caddying for Viktor when the decision to turn pro was official and my answer, obviously, was yes.”

Their first official week together was at the 2019 Travelers Championship where he finished in a tie for 54th.

“That first week was sort of an assessment for both of us,” Knight said. “I think the first week, from a mental side, you know if you’ll click or not, in my opinion. Travelers week was to see if we would get on well with each other. That’s half the battle. You need to get on well and have something to talk about to stay engaged in something other than golf to take the stress out of the tournament itself.”

It did not take long for Hovland to impress Knight too.

“He has the ability to take one side of the golf course out of play, which is huge,” Knight said. “He drives it very straight. I’m also impressed with his mental approach. He’s a very calm guy. He can get angry, but lets it go quickly. It’s really exciting for me. I’m as excited now as when I first came out on Tour to be able to watch a kid grow out here.”

Knight has caddied Hovland to six professional victories and has helped the young Norwegian climb the World Rankings. His best ranking is third at time of writing. Some other interesting facts on Knight include; his favorite course to caddie at is Pebble Beach, and his favorite course to play is Old Sandwich.