Who Is Keith Mitchell's Caddie?

Keith Mitchell has been a PGA Tour player since 2018 and has one victory to his name so far - the 2019 Honda Classic. 

The University of Georgia grad has twice broken into the top 50 in the world rankings and currently sits 44th - his highest-ever position.

After turning pro in 2014 and enjoying a steady rise towards the top of the game, Mitchell has only worked with two caddies during his time on the PGA Tour.

The first was Pete Persolja - a.k.a. 'Crunchy Pete' - from 2014 until 2021. Referring to himself as the caddie version of British survival expert, Bear Grylls, Persolja very much enjoys the outdoors and would regularly sleep under the stars.

However, after being by Mitchell's side for his first PGA Tour win, 'Crunchy Pete' Persolja announced on X in December 2021 that the pair would be moving in different directions.

He said: "The great Keith Mitchell and I have parted ways this winter. 6.5 years of success and fun we have brought each other. Always rooting for my man but come 2022 I'll have a new horse to cheer for!!"

That decision brought Mitchell's current bagman into the frame - John Limanti. A former caddie of several PGA Tour golfers, the most notable of which was Adam Scott, Limanti has been looping since 2009.

He was also the caddie for LPGA Tour golfer I.K. Kim in her infamous loss at the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship where she missed a one-foot putt on the 72nd green to win.

Limanti - who played college golf at the University of North Florida - helped Mitchell unlock an even greater level of consistency in his game and, during the 2022 campaign, the now-32-year-old secured six top-10 finishes from 26 tournaments. He only missed six cuts that year but managed a season-best result of T3 at The CJ Cup.

Speaking to The Caddie Network about his career in 2018, Limanti said his greatest golf memory was a stunning shot when he was younger which ultimately led him to meet one of Mitchell's predecessors.

Limanti said: "I was on my last hole in a AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) event, and knew I had to make an eagle on the par-4 18th hole to qualify for Match Play. I had 210 yards to the hole, and miraculously made the shot with my 4-iron!

"I then went on to meet and play Chris Stroud in the first round. We became great friends and now work together on the Tour."

Coincidentally, Limanti admitted his greatest memory as a caddie also involved Stroud.

He said: "When Chris Stroud chipped in on the 72nd hole at The 2013 Travelers Championship to force a playoff with Ken Duke. It was the loudest roar that I had ever heard. It was electric!"

According to a PGA Tour article ahead of The Players Championship in 2013, Limanti has undergone "serious neck surgery" in the past. Having made a full recovery, the former college player entered into the caddie competition on the par-3 17th at TPC Sawgrass in 2023 - but it did not go as well as he would have hoped.

“I had him as one of our betting favorites,” Mitchell said. “Former pro, great swing. First ball was a little flutter up into the wind, came up short and went into the water.

“I made him hit one more shot, and it’s the … it’s the forbidden word.”

Defending his first shot coming up short of the island green and his second being inadvertently fired towards the wrong patch of dry land completely, Limanti said: “I haven’t played golf at all.

Limanti - who once mowed the 17th green as part of the maintenance staff at TPC Sawgrass - continued: “I was just trying to hit an 8-iron. It was a tough right-to-left wind and I’m a fader of the ball, at least from what I can remember. I just didn’t hit it hard enough. The second one I tried to hit a little harder, and that didn’t work.”