15-year-old plays Australian pro event — and his caddie is younger

Billy Dowling was between clubs on the tee on the 164-yard, par-3 15th at Pelican Waters Golf Club. He and his caddie, Alfie Ward, talked. Dowling then pulled an iron from his bag, hit his ball within a foot, made the birdie and shot even par during Thursday’s first round of the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Isuzu Queensland Open.

“I asked Alfie to hit 5 or 6, and he said 6, so I took out 6,” Dowling said to the Golf Australia website. “I was pretty confident, and once I hit it, it was just online ever since I hit it, and, yeah, um, I thought it was going in. Ended up just less than a foot from the hole.” 

After the round, Ward snacked on a hot dog. He’s 13. 

Dowling ate one, too. He was also missing English class. He’s 15. 

Two of the tournament leaders are in their 40s. Dowling and Ward’s combined age doesn’t hit that high. Young players in pro events are not totally uncommon. But young players with even younger caddies? 

“His ball striking was on today,” Ward said of Dowling to the Golf Australia website. “It was awesome, yeah. He just stomped every shot out there, so yeah, it’s good.”

Yeah, it was awesome. Yeah, it was good. Dowling, according to the News.com.au website, has been playing at a scratch level or better for the past two years. He qualified for the event on Monday, then hooked up with Ward, whom he had met in junior events and is also a Pelican Waters member. He’s staying at the Wards home, too.

“It’s wonderful … putting mat competitions outside the spare room at night, golf talk, Weet-Bix [an Australian cereal] in the morning and out to the course,” Ward’s mother, Alison Ward, said to News.com.au.

Back to that shot on 15. And that hot dog. 

Ward was asked by Golf Australia if that was his caddie fee. 

“No, I don’t think so,” he said.  

“No, he wants more than that apparently, but I think a hot dog does well,” Dowling said. “Yeah, I got one as well, so it worked out.”