It’s quite rare for any injuries to befall golfers or caddies in an actual tournament. Seldom would there ever be a need for a standby, backup looper to take up a pro’s bag in the event of some fluky ailment. During Sunday’s final round of the RBC Canadian Open, though, C.T. Pan was suddenly without someone to carry his clubs when veteran caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan took a spill on the third hole.
A random fan from the gallery volunteered to take Fluff’s spot in one of the more surreal scenes I can recall seeing at any golf tournament.
C.T. Pan enlists a fan to step in to caddie after Mike "Fluff" Cowan was injured after a fall during the final round. pic.twitter.com/HzRLGzIkeu
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2024
Fluff took a spill and think some random guy from the ropes got the call to finish the round on CT Pan’s bag. Hopefully Fluff is alright. Damron couldn’t resist a fat guy joke 😂 pic.twitter.com/ioWiuxOoq8
— Dan Back (@dan_back) June 2, 2024
Just now at the Canadian Open in Hamilton, a fan has volunteered to sub in for CT Pan's injured caddie. Nice lid, man!! (Keith Pelley's worlds colliding!) @TorontoArgos #pulltogether pic.twitter.com/WndMmcNOv4
— Prof. James Fraser @BygoneBoatmen (@BygoneBoatmen) June 2, 2024
Alas, the big man only lasted for one hole before Pan sought out another spectator for the job.
Fan got replaced after one hole. This guy looks like a real looper. pic.twitter.com/YPxW2dFMC3
— Dan Back (@dan_back) June 2, 2024
Funny and weird as it is for multiple fans to have carried Pan’s bag today, above all else, let’s send some well wishes to Fluff. He’s been a caddie for over four decades, and was on the bag for Tiger Woods‘ major breakthrough at the 1997 Masters, which he won by 12 strokes and officially changed the game of golf forever. In case you’re unaware, Fluff got his moniker due to his iconic mustache. It’s an absolute beauty.
Prior to caddying for Tiger, Fluff was with Ed Sabo for three years before a lengthy stint with Peter Jacobsen that began in 1978 to 1996. However, from 1999 until just this year, it was Jim Furyk who employed Fluff for the vast majority of his career. Furyk and Fluff were a hell of a team. Between Fluff’s famous stache and Furyk’s one-of-one weird swing, there might not have been a more eccentric player-caddie pairing in all of golf for the quarter-century they were together. Although he won the 2003 U.S. Open, Furyk is perhaps best known for the PGA Tour’s lowest single-round score ever when he carded a 58 at the 2016 Travelers Championship.
Records were meant to be broken.
Reliving Jim Furyk’s legendary 58 in 58 seconds @TravelersChamp.#TOURVault https://t.co/KHg0pQPykA pic.twitter.com/05qUtVChny
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) February 8, 2024
Good news! Fluff appears to be OK — and a more seasoned caddie is stepping in to help Pan on his last nine holes.
Al Ridell, caddie for Paul Barjon, is going to caddie for CT Pan for the back nine. Ridell lives in Hamilton and knew Pan from PGA TOUR Canada. https://t.co/wLojfPO8HH
— Adam Stanley (@adam_stanley) June 2, 2024
To tie everything back to Pan for a second: He may not be anywhere near contention, but every single shot matters. Only the top 125 finishers in the FedEx Cup standings are guaranteed to keep their Tour cards. As of this writing, Pan is projected to be 112th in the season-long hierarchy. Still a lot of golf to be played from here on out. Talk about pressure, though — and it has to be unsettling to lose your caddie at any point.
Alright. Figured I’d close this out with a few notable clips of Fluff, capped by some excellent life advice.
I can’t get enough of this rekindled friendship 😂
Tiger to Fluff: at least this weather will keep us loose!
Fluff to Tiger: speak for yourself pic.twitter.com/pIhCDW9qWr— Amanda Balionis (@Amanda_Balionis) July 1, 2018
Tigers old caddie "Fluff" Cowen checking the wind to help set up a good shot for Tiger at the 1996 John Deere Classic pic.twitter.com/Mm2hqMPEpz
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) April 14, 2023
the key to happiness, from Fluff Cowan: pic.twitter.com/0RVF3NZ8ZB
— Dylan Dethier (@dylan_dethier) March 26, 2024
