Tommy Fleetwood’s Caddie Ian Finnis Has Open Heart Surgery
Fleetwood’s close friend and caddie confirmed the news on Instagram after being absent from the last three events

In recent tournaments, Tommy Fleetwood has been without his friend and long-term caddie Ian Finnis alongside him due to ill health. However, Finnis had been unwell for most of the year and he has now confirmed he has undergone open heart surgery.
Finnis posted a message on his Instagram stories reading: “Open heart surgery done!! Massive thanks to all the NHS staff. Unreal service and people! The road to recovery has started.”
Initially, Finnis missed the Valero Texas Open, where Fleetwood eventually finished T7 after turning to a senior manager at TaylorMade, Adrian Rietveld, as Finnis' stand-in.
At the time, Fleetwood spoke about the situation with Finnis. Per PGATour.com, he said: “He was sick before Christmas. He came out at the start of the year, and he’s basically had some sort of infection. It’s been prolonged. He’s definitely moving in the right direction. Hopefully he’ll be good enough to come out next week.”
That was in reference to The Masters, but once again Finnis didn’t make the trip, with Fleetwood instead turning to veteran Augusta National caddie Gray Moore. At the tournament, Fleetwood once again addressed the ongoing health concerns with Finnis, saying: "Yeah, he's not been well all year. At the moment he's at home trying to recover and get the right treatment.
Tommy Fleetwood had Augusta caddie Gray Moore with him at The Masters
"Hopefully he'll be back out sooner rather than later. Yeah, it's definitely different being without him. Like we've been together every tournament for the last eight years pretty much.
"So, yeah, we just wish him all the best. The sooner he can get better, the better for all of us. Everybody has been asking about him, which has been great. I know he'll be desperate to come back out here as soon as possible.”
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Following Fleetwood’s best result at the Major, a T3, he then recorded a T49 finish at the RBC Heritage, with Rietveld again on the bag.
While there is no word on when Finnis will return, the pair have struck up a successful partnership over the years.
As well as being his caddie, Finnis is also one of Fleetwood’s oldest and closest friends. Since beginning working together in 2016, the Englishman has recorded six wins on the DP World Tour, including this year’s Dubai Invitational, where Fleetwood finished ahead of Rory McIlroy.
Fleetwood is not in action this week, but he is expected to appear at next week's Wells Fargo Championship, with his second Major appearance of the year set for the PGA Championship the following week.
Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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