Joe Skovron tells the story of how he became Rickie Fowler’s caddie
Rickie Fowler's caddie might fade into the background next to Fowler's flair, but his importance to Rickie's game has not.
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Rickie Fowler claims one of golf’s brightest (and most envious) bags — literally. Whether he’s rocking a custom-print Arnold Palmer design (like in the photo above) or using his weekly, bright yellow Cobra bag, Fowler (and his clubs) are typically visible from a mile away.
While he might not possess the same bright-hued flair as the bag he carries, Fowler’s caddie Joe Skovron has been a major figure in Rickie’s success.
Skovron has served as Rickie’s caddie for the entirety of his 11-year professional career, morphing from a recently retired college coach on the bag of one of golf’s youngest stars to an established, PGA Tour veteran, playing in everything from the Ryder Cup to the Masters.
In this week’s edition of GOLF’s Subpar, Skovron sat down with Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz to break down his favorite stories from a decade on Fowler’s bag — an experience he says started thanks to his relationship with another PGA Tour player.
“I was caddying at the time for Brendan Steele,” Skovron said. “So I would just do it for fun because I was coaching and I was actually trying to run a clothing company at the same time.”
As Skovron remembers it, he didn’t believe his relationship with Fowler would amount of much of anything, even if his experience with his pal Steele and time as a college golf coach made him more credible than most to serve as a caddie.
“There was one time that he mentioned me possibly caddying here when he got the exemption, but he didn’t end up going that direction,” he said. “So no, I didn’t really know that was coming, his dad had mentioned to me a little bit and some people in town.”
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But after a call came from Fowler’s camp, a full-time caddie gig suddenly became a legitimate possibility.
“Rickie asked me to come do the Columbus event, and I was scheduled to do Omaha and Columbus for Brendan,” Skovron said. “I had to make the phone call to Brendan and say ‘Hey, would you have an issue with this? Is this cool?’ Brendan was unbelievable about it. He said ‘No you’ve got to go do it,’ because I said ‘I don’t know if this is a trial to do this full-time.'”
Upon earning Steele’s blessing, Skovron’s job was simple: do his best and hope for the best. After that first tournament, Rickie was sold, and the rest is history.
“From there it was a trial and we said ‘Okay, let’s go see if it works,'” he said. “It went really well and then he said ‘You want to come in the fall?’ and I said yeah. Quit coaching and went up there.”
You can watch the rest of Skovron’s Subpar interview in the video below to hear some of his favorite caddie stories from Ryder Cups, major championships and more.
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