How this U.S. Amateur contender got a former Tour pro to caddie for him

Ben Carr is showing us what the power of social media can get you.

In need of a caddie for this week’s U.S. Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club, instead of hiring a local caddie from the club, the fifth-year senior at Georgia Southern sent out a tweet as a job posting for a potential looper.

In comes 36-year-old former PGA Tour pro Will Wilcox to answer the call.

Now, a journeyman tour pro from Alabama and a college senior from Georgia may seem like an unlikely pairing, but the two have actually developed a history over the past few years. Wilcox moved to Columbus, Ga., and started playing golf often with Carr at the Country Club of Columbus during the pandemic, according to GolfChannel.com.

On the broadcast of the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur, Golf Channel’s Steve Burkowski said Wilcox responded to Carr to “take that down” when he saw the tweet. Wilcox was apparently already set to be in the area for a Rage Against The Machine concert the week before the tournament.

“Anything that goes with being a good caddie, he’s got it,” Carr said of Wilcox after his quarterfinal win Friday. “He keeps me grounded. He’s a great green reader, good with numbers, good decision maker, and we just had so much fun out there. Two guys from Alabama and Georgia, just up here in New Jersey, almost like a foreign country, just having a good time on the golf course.”

It may contrast to keeping him grounded, but you can probably add hype man to this list too, based on Wilcox’s Twitter feed this week.

Wilcox might be most famous for his celebration after dunking it on the 16th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the 2016 Players Championship. However, Carr’s play has him in the semifinals against Pepperdine’s Derek Hitchner.

Let’s hope two more wins for Carr would mean another fantastic celebration from Wilcox.

And of course we can’t forget to admire Carr’s confidence in his job posting, noting he’d need a caddy for all seven days of the event.

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.