Caddie defeats Sawgrass island hole in one of the more bizarre ways you’ll see

Ben An limped off last year with an 11, Brendon Todd nearly found another green, and Brooks Koepka can’t figure out the shot, nor the second one that follows an error on the first. On and on. The horror stories of TPC Sawgrass’ famed island green are as numerous as the golf balls in its waters, and Simon Keelan no doubt has heard a few.   

Then he turned around an 8-iron at them.

Each year, on the day before the Players Championship, the caddies swing instead of shoulder. On the line in the Caddie Competition, as reported earlier this week by GOLF’s Sean Zak, is cash, a drawing by a Marvel artist, an engraved money clip and a spot in the players parking lot. The catch? The loopers play the 17th, whose green may sit only a short iron away from the tee box, but nothing but lake is in between. 

On Wednesday, Keelan, the left-handed caddie for Seamus Power, took the right-handed 8-iron of pro Tyrrell Hatton, flipped the head of the club over, swung lefty, and hit the green. (According to the Independent, he hit to 10 feet.)  

“Oh, yes. Go, go, go. Ohhhh! Yay! Hahaha!” shouted pro Shane Lowry, who was filming the shot. 

According to the Independent, Keelan is a stick. He was formerly the pro at Monkstown Golf Club in Ireland and plays to a plus-5.3 handicap at Douglas Golf Club, also in Ireland.    

“Had a day for myself.. Shane on commentary. Tyrell’s [sic] 8 iron turned around. Seamie and Westy expecting a [water emoji],” Keelan wrote on his Instagram account, referring to Lowry, Hatton, Power and Lee Westwood.  

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Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.