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Jul 16, 2019 8:18 pm

Koepka’s Open ace on the bag: Portrush native caddie

Brooks Koepka admits he’s looking for inside information and insight from his locally grown caddie, longtime bagman Ricky Elliott, at The Open Championship this week.

Two practice rounds into his stay at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, site of The Open, Koepka realized much of the gallery wasn’t stalking the No. 1-ranked player in golf.

“I probably hear more, ‘Ricky! Hey, Ricky, what’s going on?’ than anything,” Koepka said of Elliott’s popularity in Portrush. “I’m sure he’ll have quite a bit of friends and family out. It will be a special week for him, for sure.”

Elliott is Koepka’s full-time caddie and has been since the 2013 PGA Championship. But he grew up in Northern Ireland, has a low round of 65 on the course to his credit and said he can’t even count the number of rounds he’s walked on the grounds.

“Luckily my caddie has played this golf course I can’t tell you how many times, so that’s a big advantage,” Koepka said. “Every hole I just step up on, ‘You tell me what to do, you’ve played it more than anybody.’ So just let him figure it out.”

Koepka, who has four major victories and has finished first or second in the first three majors of the 2019 season, is the favorite to win in the minds of many players taking part in the event. Koepka is scheduled to hit his first tee shot at 1:04 p.m. (8:04 a.m. ET) on Thursday, paired with 2010 champion Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Shubhankar Sharma of India.

Between now and then, a number of players have been angling for Elliott’s time. And Koepka’s.

That includes three-time Open Championship winner Tiger Woods, who said Koepka is ghosting him. Woods admitted he was aware of Elliott’s edge at Portrush, which is hosting the event for the first time since 1951.

“I’ll tell you a funny story. I texted Brooks congratulations on another great finish,” Woods began. “What he’s done in the last four major championships has been unbelievable. He’s been so consistent, so solid. He’s been in contention to win each and every major championship. So I said, ‘Hey dude, do you mind if I tag along and play a practice round?’ I’ve heard nothing.”

Woods laughed off the story, but Koepka is a steely eyed competitor. There are secrets everywhere on the links at Portrush, and Elliott knows most of them. Even so, he said he’s still measuring the difference between his own shot lines and those he’ll experience this week on Koepka’s bag.

“Brooks hits the ball a lot different than the lines I hit it on,” Elliott said. “I’ll have to work with the yardage book a little bit.”

Koepka, who spent Friday at Elliott’s childhood home with their families, wants nothing more than to hand Elliott the Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon, then celebrate a major title together with Elliott at the renowned Harbour Bar.

“There would be nothing cooler. Put it this way, I don’t think when he grew up that he ever thought there would be an Open Championship here. And to top it off, I don’t think he ever thought he’d be a part of it,” Koepka said. “To be caddying and to be able to win one here … he’d be a legend, wouldn’t he? He already is.”

–Field Level Media

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