Rickie Fowler last won in February 2019. His former caddie? He won last week. Tom Kim, still just 20 years old, was the talk of the Presidents Cup last month, but his looper earned some headlines too. Joe Skovron, who caddied for Fowler for 14 years until they split in August, started carrying Kim’s bag that week.
Kim won the Wyndham Championship three weeks earlier and continued his strong play with Skovron at Quail Hollow Club. They finished 2-3 playing all five matches for a team that lost 17.5-12.5 to the U.S.
At the time, Skovron was unsure if he’d continue to caddie for Kim — “You’d have to ask Tom about that,” he said — but there’s been more good news for the duo since. In his first start since the Presidents Cup, Kim shot a final-round 66 to win the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas on Sunday with Skovron still on the bag.
“I played really solid this week; I had no bogeys for 72 holes,” Kim said on Sunday. “I think I got to give big credits to Joe, my caddie. He really kept me in it. We had a really good game plan coming into the week, and it paid off.”
Joe Skovron tells the story of how he became Rickie Fowler’s caddie
Skovron’s former boss, however, wasn’t in Las Vegas for the weekend. Fowler had a good start to the year with a T6 at the Fortinet Championship but shot back-to-back rounds of 70 in Vegas. It was the first time Fowler and Skovron were at the same event since they parted ways.
“Very disappointed about last week in Vegas because I felt a lot better than what my performance showed,” Fowler said on Wednesday in Japan, speaking ahead of the Zozo Championship. “I spent too much time in the desert there in Vegas, so unfortunately, like I said, short week, weekend off, but definitely rested and ready to go over here.”
Fowler said he used the weekend off to work with coach Butch Harmon and spend time with his family. His new caddie is Ricky Romano, and Fowler said he’s excited about the partnership.
“I feel like we work really well together. Being back with Butch and I think keeping things fairly simple but some pretty significant changes, but to see the results in Napa, that was a big step forward,” Fowler said. “Excited about knowing where we’re at and where we’re heading.
“Also got a big congrats to Joe on a win last week, obviously him being on Tom’s bag,” Fowler continued. “That was cool to see. Tom’s a special player, but obviously happy for Joe as well.”
Fowler tees off for the first round of the Zozo Championship at 8:12 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Golf Channel coverage begins at 11 p.m. ET.
