Okay, so I’ve always been curious about what goes on behind the scenes at the Masters, especially when it comes to the caddies. I mean, we see them there, lugging those heavy bags and giving advice, but how much do they actually make? I decided to dig in and find out.
First, I started poking around online, you know, just casual browsing. And let me tell you, there’s a ton of info out there, but it’s all scattered. Some articles talked about percentages, others threw around random numbers, and some even mentioned specific names and their supposed earnings. It was a mess!
So, I figured, I’ll organize this chaos. I started noting down all the key figures I found. The most common one was this “10-7-5” rule. Apparently, that’s a general guideline for how caddies get paid based on the player’s winnings. 10% for the winner, 7% for the runner-up, and 5% for everyone else.
Then there was the prize money. For example, Jon Rahm won the Masters’ last year and got $3.24 million. If we apply that 10% rule, his caddie probably made a cool $324,000. That’s a lot of money for a week’s work, huh? And for this year, the number I found was that the winning caddie would take home around $360,000. That’s insane!
But then, I realized it’s not all about these big numbers. Caddies also have their own deals with the players, so the actual pay can vary. Some sources mentioned that the golfer pays them around 5 to 10 percent of his income. I saw some names popping up, like Jimmy Johnson and Jonathan Jakovac, with claims that they earned over $500,000. Whether that’s true or not, who knows.
I tried to create a spreadsheet to keep track of all these numbers, percentages, and names. It wasn’t pretty, but it helped me get a clearer picture. I even made some rough calculations to estimate potential earnings for different scenarios.
- Winner’s Caddie: Usually gets 10% of the prize money.
- Runner-up’s Caddie: Typically gets around 7%.
- Other Caddies: Generally, it’s about 5% of the player’s winnings.
In the end, what did I learn? Well, being a caddie at the Masters can be pretty lucrative, especially if you’re working with a top player. But it’s not just about the money. These guys are out there, week after week, building relationships and playing a crucial role in the game. It’s a unique world, and I’m glad I got to take a peek into it. It gave me a whole new appreciation for those guys carrying the bags.
