A caddie’s worst nightmare is rooted in uncertainty. Pass along incorrect yardage or read a putt poorly and the caddie could be making a trip down the road to another player or unemployment.
Ted Scott, an affable 51-year-old Louisianan who has become the PGA Tour’s Caddie Yoda, was in that tentative headspace early in the sensational 2024 season he shared with Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top golfer. Except on this occasion, the stakes were much higher.
Scott was jarred awake by a friend’s text before daybreak on Friday, May 17 in stormy suburban Louisville, Kentucky. Scheffler and Scott were sharing a rental home that week at the PGA Championship just more than one mile from Valhalla Golf Club. The usual drill was for Scheffler, a big routine guy, to arrive on site three hours prior to his tee time to stretch, eat and warm up. Scott was slated to arrive two hours before play began to get the course particulars in order. However, this was an entirely different — and enlightening — morning prior to the second round.
“My friend’s text just said, ‘Sorry, bud,’ ” Scott recalls. “I had no idea what he was talking about. He responded, ‘Scottie got arrested.’ I thought it was some type of joke he was playing on me. As we continued, I saw the news that somebody had been killed in a traffic accident near the course. My mind went to, ‘Oh no, Scottie ran over somebody in the dark this morning?’ My heart skipped a beat.
“But as I got going and heard more, I talked to Scottie and learned what occurred, I knew this was a ridiculous situation. I know Scottie well enough.”
Adding another layer of change, Scott had asked at year’s start if he could opt out of the PGA’s third round to attend his daughter’s high school graduation back in Lafayette, Louisiana, on Saturday, May 18. Following his early morning arrest and rush to the course, Scheffler somehow churned out a 66 with Scott on the bag. Scott exited Friday night to attend to memorable family matters. No second thoughts.
“We had worked it out that Brad Payne, the [PGA] Tour chaplain, would be there to caddie and he’s probably the strongest voice we have other than our wives,” Scott says. “He’s real straight forward. To me, it was almost better than me being there. I wouldn’t know what to say after that incident the next day. Brad is such a great counselor. It really worked out.
“The greatest thing I saw that week was God’s character shined through Scottie. He had the presence of mind and comfort to begin stretching in jail. Who does that? And then he played a great round of golf. I just look back on that and think, ‘How tough is this dude?’”
It also was another learning experience for Scott, who has stockpiled plenty of those along a 25-year caddying career that began quite by accident.
Dial back the clock and there was also a chaotic yet humorous scenario in late March 2000 when Scott, then 26 and a mini-tour player, wandered out to Le Triomphe Country Club in his hometown for the Buy.com Louisiana Open. New Zealander Grant Waite had partial status on the PGA Tour but aimed to stay active by dipping into Lafayette since he wasn’t eligible for that week’s early April PGA Tour event in Atlanta.
Waite arrived late Tuesday afternoon, asked about hiring a caddie and was introduced to Scott, who was standing nearby after failing to qualify for the event as a player. Waite hired Scott, who was beset by a flu bug, had never caddied and went through a laughable weeklong list of caddie foibles. Waite finished tied for 29th and earned $2,998.64, with Scott taking home approximately $500.
“He’s such a good and genuine guy, we just got on really well,” says Waite, now 60 and a golf instructor in Orlando, Florida. “You would think with that start, I wouldn’t hire him to caddie for me. But Ted gets along with everybody. His personality is such that it’s hard not to like him with that sense of humor. And he works hard. There’s no pretension about him.”
Waite would go on to hire Scott as his full-time caddie for that 2000 season. The season completed famously when Waite lost to Tiger Woods’ memorable fairway bunker shot on the final hole at the Bell Canadian Open that September. With two runner-up finishes, Waite topped $1 million in PGA Tour earnings for the only time in his career — most with Scott on the bag.
“All I did was give him an opportunity to do something he probably didn’t even consider,” Waite says.
Scott has helped golfers to 27 wins in a 25-year career that has progressed through a series of bags of unique personalities. After three years with Waite, Scott began working for Paul Azinger, whom he met at a Tour Bible study class. Then it was on to Olin Browne for a short stint that included a final-round pairing with eventual 2005 U.S. Open winner Michael Campbell. Bubba Watson was next for 15 years, through 2021. Their partnership resulted in all 12 of Watson’s PGA Tour wins, including the 2012 and 2014 Masters.
Watson was the conduit to meeting Scheffler when the two players teamed for the 2021 Zurich Classic in New Orleans. Scott and Scheffler had several chances to interact at the tournament, located just two hours from Scott’s home. Watson, in his early 40s, was on the brink of joining LIV Golf in 2022, and Scott was contemplating going back to his first loves — faith, family at home in Louisiana and teaching golf.
The result of the Scheffler and Scott team has been remarkable. Scheffler has made 67 tournament starts since their first gig at the 2021 RSM Classic, which began with a first-round 63. With Scott on his bag, Scheffler has won all 15 of his PGA Tour titles and finished second nine times. That totals to a 22% win rate and a 68.6 stroke average that includes three 62s, six 63s and eight 64s. Scheffler's 2024 season has been one of the finest ever — eight wins, including a second Masters victory, an Olympic gold medal and the birth of his and wife Meredith's first child. Scheffler and Scott are reuniting again at this Presidents Cup, Sept. 26-29 at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Montreal< Canada.
Even though caddies sour at discussing money earned based on the standard 10-7-5 percentage scale (10% for a win, 7% for a top 10 and 5% for a cut made), Scott’s had quite a successful 2024 bottom line, with at least $5 million in earnings based just on Scheffler’s $29 million in official money and other bonuses. It could be a lot more, but Scott defers.
“It bothers me when people talk about money,” Scott says. “I understand this type of discussion comes with the job. But I would rather talk about being able to sharpen another person or them sharpen me not how much money I’m getting.”
Scott has always emphasized interacting with those he can learn from or working with players where he feels socially enriched. He takes the characteristics learned from his father, a career pharmaceutical salesman, an encouraging mother and his wife, Melanie, who enhanced his spiritual focus. Steve Kling, a regular in the caddie facility at Augusta National, became Scott’s friend and offered him a guest bedroom when Watson moved from a house rental to RV. Kling helps Scott and Scheffler prepare for the Masters each spring. Scott uses faith as the baseline, which was an essential ingredient when he opted to continue caddying with the spiritual Scheffler in late 2021 following a two-week consultation with his family. He also relies on being able to read the mood of people, especially players when carrying a golf bag.
“Our job as caddies is to fill gaps,” Scott says. “My friend Brandon Parsons, who used to caddie for J.B. Holmes, once told me if a guy is a NASCAR driver the only thing you want him to do is drive the car. If necessary, wash his underwear. Pick up food for him. Introduce him to someone who can help him in some way. All he’s got to do is drive the car or play golf.
“I find what caddies do on the PGA Tour to be hilarious and the most unusual job. Would Tom Brady ask a high school JV quarterback which receiver to throw to? I’m a guy who’s a 5 handicap whose best finish was winning the second flight in a scramble. We’re just out there to reassure our dude that what he’s doing with an 8- or 9-iron is the right play. There’s a lot of opportunities to get distracted out there. I’m there to remind them, ‘Dude, you’re the bee’s knees.’ ”
Scott said that ability to assess a player’s temperament and smile through the day is a skill that may be greater than judging distances or green slopes.
“Number one, I think I’m a funny guy, even though I might not be,” Scott says. “Number two, when I started working with Scottie, I asked him what he thought about dad jokes. He had to tolerate them. I don’t care how big a moment it is in a golf tournament, you’ve got to have fun and make the player feel a sense of normalcy.”
An example occurred at the 2022 Masters, during Scheffler’s first major title run. Scheffler spent the morning of the final round in tears and doubt because he had never been in this situation. The day progressed to the usual mid-afternoon final tee time. Scott arrived at the first tee, opened his Masters jump suit to view a green T-shirt with the G.I.I.C. lettering — “God Is In Control.” That episode relaxed Scheffler.
“Teddy is a really peaceful guy,” Scheffler said after the 2022 Masters. “He doesn’t really react too much. We talk about pretty much every shot. So, I can’t remember a shot in which he didn’t help me unless I was tapping in. We talk about everything out there, and that helps me prepare to hit a good shot and just be committed to what I’m doing.”
Scott has even taken that spirit to the often-murky world of social media. Most notably, the flagsticks from the Masters have made video guest appearances on the back of lawnmowers, a golf cart at his home course and comfortably tucked in a bed after the 2024 Masters victory. Since he moonlights as an instructor, there are occasional tutorials set on the 2017 golf simulator he has installed at his home or wisdom he passed along to successful players. That social media popularity has found an additional niche with the nearly weekly “Sunday Sermon,” a one-minute inspirational message that’s not preachy but reflects Scott’s religious focus. On many occasions, the message sounds like what a caddie might tell a player before a round or in the heat of battle.
“I have tried my best to be a positive light on social media, which usually flows with negativity,” says Scott, whose bio on X jokes that he “led the mini-tours in other fairways hit.” “Do I love doing it? No. But these videos hopefully entertain people and offer something different. I’m just trying to be a real person.”
