When Phil Mickelson announced late last month that his brother, Tim, was retiring from caddying, it was natural to wonder who the six-time major champion would turn to next for a looper.
We didn’t have to wait long for that answer as Mickelson showed up for LIV Golf Miami this week with new caddie Jon Yarbrough in tow for what will be Mickelson’s last start before next week’s Masters.
Golfweek was first to report the new arrangement after Mickelson announced Tim’s retirement in an emotional social media post last week. Tim had caddied for his older brother since 2017, but recently had a second son, Phil said in the post, and seemed to indicate he was stepping away to spend more time with his family.
Yarbough, a 20-year veteran, had been on the bag of Scott Stallings for the past decade and the two are close, but Golfweek reported Mickelson offered Yarbough “incredible” guaranteed money that helped sway him. Yarbough has also worked for Gary Woodland, Bill Haas and Smylie Kaufman as well as LPGA players Kelly Robbins, Morgan Pressel and Suzann Pettersen.
Stallings, a mainstay on the PGA Tour for more than a decade, qualified for the Tour Championship in 2022, but barely finished in the top 125 last year and has made only three cuts in nine starts in 2024. He withdrew from last week’s Texas Children’s Houston Open with his swing coach on the bag.
According to @ProGolfCritic on Twitter, Yarbough and Mickelson have already visited Augusta National to scout the course for the year’s first major next week. Last year, Mickelson, at 52, finished tied for second, becoming the oldest golfer to ever finish that high at the Masters.
Coincidentally, Mickelson’s previous caddie before his brother, Jim “Bones” Mackay, parted ways with his boss, Justin Thomas, on Tuesday. Mackay was the only caddie Mickelson knew as a professional, with the pair winning five majors together before splitting in 2017. Mackay worked as an on-course reporter for NBC and Golf Channel until 2021 when Thomas hired him out of retirement.
A reunion with Mickelson already seemed unlikely for Mackay, having auditioned for NBC’s lead analyst job already this season. He’s currently on assignment at Augusta for NBC and Golf Channel at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
