Tim Mickelson retiring as bro's caddie; Phil reportedly adds Tour vet
An important member of Phil Mickelson's team is retiring.
Nearly seven years after his split with his bagman of 25 years, Bones Mackay, in June 2017, Mickelson announced Tuesday that the man who replaced Mackay, Mickelson’s younger brother Tim Mickelson, is leaving that job to spend more time with his family.
“I’ve had some great accomplishments in my career and getting to share them with my brother Tim has been beyond special,” Mickelson wrote on social media. “I’m very lucky to have had him on the bag for me the past eight years and as my brother for life.
“So much has changed since he was single and we started working together. He’s found his life partner, Maranda, they’ve had their second son, and hopefully their family will continue to grow. While Tim is retiring from caddying, I’ll always cherish the many great moments we’ve shared on the course, and I look forward to many more special moments off the course, too.”
When Tim, who is seven years younger than 53-year-old Phil, first took on his brother’s bag, he was just a couple years removed from quitting his job as the men’s college golf coach at Arizona State and becoming Jon Rahm’s agent. With Tim as his caddie, Phil won three times on the PGA Tour, including the 2021 PGA Championship, his sixth major triumph.
Tim followed Phil to LIV Golf two years ago, though Phil has not found much success on the Saudi-backed league, notching just three top-10s in 24 starts.
Tim's replacement was not disclosed, though Golfweek reported that Jon Yarbrough, who has caddie for Scott Stallings for about a decade, would be starting his new gig as Phil's caddie at LIV's event next week at Doral outside of Miami.
Stallings confirmed that Yarbrough was at least departing his bag, saying of Yarbrough in a post Tuesday on social media, "You made me a better player inside the ropes and a better man outside of them. Thank you for everything."
Golfweek also reported that Caleb Surratt, who joined LIV this season after a year and a half at the University of Tennessee, had hired Akshay Bhatia's caddie, Brian Dilley, with Surratt telling the magazine via text, “I’m still learning, growing, and working on everything that I’m beginning to see what I need as a player in order to grow and be able to compete to the highest level, and I think Brian Dilley‘s gonna be able to help me get to that point."
