Jack Whaley went from trailing his U.S. Amateur final at the midway point to beating Jay Leng Jr. 4 and 3 at Merion Golf Club last Sunday. It was a special moment for the 22-year-old Englishman, but also for his dad, Andy, who caddied for him that week.
“It was phenomenal,” Jack said during the latest episode of GOLF’s Subpar podcast, where he broke down his epic week at the U.S. Amateur. “To have the opportunity to go out and do that with my dad was fantastic, and for the first time for him to caddie as well was pretty spectacular. … It’s the first time playing in such a big event and I thought it would mean a lot for him to caddie, so I asked him if he wanted to.”
Jack admitted his dad was “a little rusty” when it came to his looping skills, but there was one important bit of feedback Andy offered his son, which was reassurance.
“He’s kind of like a rookie,” Jack said. “He did a couple of things right. I tell him to get out of the way when my opponent’s trying to like get a line or about to stand over his putt. I’m like, ‘Dad, stand out of the way.’ He kind of forgets about those things. But as the week went along he got a lot better. He didn’t do much in terms of what clubs to hit or what shots to play — that was kind of all me — but I think the main thing he was trying to get at was just agreeing with every shot that I told him I was going to play, which kind of gave me the confidence to go up there and commit to it.”
With his win, Jack also gets a spot in next year’s Masters, although he’ll likely have a different caddie on the bag at Augusta National.
“I don’t know, “he said, “I might have to go with someone that might know the golf course a little bit better I think.”
You can listen to the entire podcast with Whaley here, of watch the video below.
