It should be no surprise Drew Mathers felt the nerves he did late Sunday at Philadelphia Cricket Club. As a last-minute fill-in caddie for Sepp Straka, he had never been in this type of situation — you know, battling down the stretch with $3.6 million on the line.
Straka and Shane Lowry were tied after 54 holes at the Truist Championship, teed off together in the final pairing and were still tied with three holes to play. But Lowry bogeyed two of the last three and Straka made three pars to win the title and claim his second victory of the season.
Mathers won big, too.
“I’ve never experienced being a caddie on this level,” Mathers told the PGA Tour afterwards. “The last few holes the heart rate was spiked for sure, and that last hole the emotions kicked in a little bit after I knew Sepp could two-putt from 3 feet. I was like, ‘You got it.’ So it was awesome.”
An aspiring tour pro, Mathers, 26, is currently playing mini tour events and preparing for Korn Ferry Tour Q-School in the fall. That’s all expensive stuff, but Sunday might have helped. While it’s unclear what arrangement Straka and Mathers had in place, the typical number you hear on Tour is a caddie taking home 10 percent of that week’s winnings. Since this was a Signature Event, if Straka and Mathers landed on that 10-percent number, it would mean $360,000 for the looper.
“It helps a ton,” Mathers said. “[Pro golf] is expensive. Everything is expensive. I’m still in shock.”
Straka and Mathers both play out of Greystone in Alabama, where they have become friends over the last few years. Straka’s normal caddie, long-time Tour looper Duane Bock, hurt his back before the tournament so Straka called Mathers on Monday to help.
“He immediately hopped on a flight and was up here ready to go,” Straka said. “Very fortunate that I was able to do that obviously. I’ve played a lot of golf with him, so I was very comfortable being beside him. It was a lot of fun having him on the bag really.”
Straka closed with a two-under 68 for his fourth career PGA Tour win. He also won the American Express earlier this year and joins Rory McIlroy as the only multi-winners on Tour so far this season.
“My whole goal today was to keep him in the same process,” Mathers said. “That was all I thought about the last two holes. I was like, If he does what he’s been doing all day, he’s got it.”
After the victory was sealed, Mathers took off the 18th-hole flag for a keepsake. He also hugged Bock, who had been on-site all week.
“I’m so proud of you buddy, good job,” Bock said. “It’s easy, man. Just breathe.”
“It’s unbelievable,” Mathers said. “I think I’ve only watched one day of a PGA Tour event in person in my life and then all of a sudden I get thrown in the ropes. So it was an experience for sure. The coolest thing I’ve ever done.”
