'I Thought About Withdrawing' - PGA Tour Caddie Claims 'Biggest Win Of My Golf Career' Despite Rough Build-Up

On a weekend where Cameron Young has set up his latest PGA Tour victory at the Cadillac Championship, the American's former caddie has already tasted success of his own.

Paul Tesori - who has Young, Tom Kim, Webb Simpson and Vijay Singh among his list of old bosses across a lengthy caddying career - triumphed by two strokes at the Florida Senior State Open and consequently landed the first statewide title of his career.

Tesori carded rounds of 68, 67 and 70 at Mayacoo Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach to post eight-under for the week and became the first amateur to win the overall championship since Mike Weeks in 2016.

However, because of his amateur status, Tesori was unable to claim the $12,000 first prize and was left with the lion's share of the $5,200 amateur purse instead.

Nevertheless, for a professional caddie with more than 20 wins under his belt, the financial side of his victory is unlikely to have disappointed him too much.

Either way, what made the achievement all the more remarkable is that Tesori admitted afterwards he considered withdrawing in the build-up during a poor practice round.

Speaking to the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, Tesori said: "This was so cool. And I played so bad in a practice round, I thought about withdrawing. Winning wasn't even in the cards. I was hoping to finish in the top 20."

Despite lowly expectations pre-tournament, the 24-year caddie's playing ability has never been in question, with eight FSGA Winter Series Mid-Amateur titles to his name.

He was a promising young amateur at the University of Florida during the early 1990s and went on to earn a PGA Tour card in 1996 before a serious injury forced him to retire early.

Since 2002, Tesori has caddied for a handful of top names on tour and most notably accompanied Simpson to a memorable victory at the 2012 PGA Championship.

Tesori is back with Simpson again this season after working with Adam Schenk previously but was allowed the week off after the American failed to qualify for the PGA Tour's run of Signature Events.

And he'll be mighty glad for the opportunity which began with rounds of 68 and 67 to give Tesori the 36-hole lead at Mayacoo Lakes on seve-under-par.

It was far from straightforward in the final round, though, as Tesori opened with a bogey before making consecutive pars and then two birdies in a row through the first five holes.

Back-to-back dropped shots at the sixth and seventh undid much of his good work, although another birdie at the ninth helped Tesori make the turn in 36 (E).

At that point, Simpson's looper had actually lost the lead courtesy of a wild opening half from Paul Scaletta. The pro, who would go on to end T2nd, started with a birdie but then followed that with a double-bogey, consecutive gains and then an eagle at the fifth.

Another eagle at the ninth from Scaletta pushed him to the top of the leaderboard at the turn, but more erratic golf ensured the Jupiter, Florida native would come up short in the end.

A bogey at the 10th from Scaletta and a birdie later on from Tesori at the 16th left both players level at the top going down 18. From there, an extraordinary finish resulted in Tesori's success.

Scaletta found a penalty area off the tee and ultimately made double-bogey while Tesori's tee shot was no picnic either and he was forced to chip out of a playable spot from the left penalty area.

Facing a little over 100 yards into the hole, Tesori dropped his wedge shot to six feet and rolled in an unlikely par putt to seal victory by two.

Tesori said: "This is the biggest win of my golf career. This is as close to winning [the 1994 Gate Invitational] as I can think of.

"People have called and texted me and said, 'Senior Tour next, right?' No... I'm not there. Caddying is a lot easier than playing."

The pro caddie is straight back to his day job next week, though, with Simpson having secured a sponsor's invite into the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow.

Tesori is then due to caddie for supremely talented youngster Miles Russell at the Korn Ferry Tour's UNF Health Championship at the end of the month.