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Scottie Scheffler has won four of the past six events he’s played in, including taking his first major at the Masters on Sunday.
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Just before his hot streak began, Scheffler coaxed caddie Ted Scott out of retirement to carry his bag.
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Scott has got to be pleased with his decision, potentially making close to a $1 million over the past few months.
Winner of four of his past six events, the 25-year-old Scottie Scheffler is riding one of the hottest streaks the golf world has seen since Tiger Woods was in his prime.
Two weeks ago, Scheffler ascended to the No. 1 spot in the world after his win at the Dell Match Play. He followed that up with a win at the Masters on Sunday, donning his first green jacket and securing the first major.
Heading into 2022, Scheffler had been a talented young player that had yet to secure a PGA Tour victory despite a slew of top-10 finishes. Then in February, Scheffler finally scored his first win at the Phoenix Open, and has been on an absolute heater ever since.
By his side for the entire hot streak has been veteran caddie Ted Scott. Before pairing with Scheffler, Scott had looped for Bubba Watson for 15 years. Watson and Scott amicably split in September 2021, and Scott was prepared to retire from caddying in favor of coaching and instruction, until he got the call from Scheffler.
According to Scott, he didn’t make the decision to return to the Tour alone.
“I had my kids pray about it,” Scott said after the Masters. “It took a week, and they said, dad, we think you ought to do it. I said, well, we’ll pray about it for another week. They said, we definitely think you should do it.
“And that was the deciding factor. I didn’t choose it.”
Scheffler and Scott made their debut together at the RSM Classic in November 2021, finishing T57. But now, Scheffler is the top-ranked golfer in the world, and Scott has cashed some of the biggest checks of his career.
As former PGA Tour caddie Michael Collins revealed on his ESPN+ show, “America’s Caddie,” PGA Tour caddies all have their own deals with their respective golfers. However, there are some general rules that apply across the board.
“Every caddie gets a weekly paycheck, no matter where his player finishes,” Collins said in an animated video for his show. “If the player misses the cut, the caddie still has to get a paycheck because the caddie pays for all of his own expenses — airfare, hotel, car, food, all of it.”
“If the guy makes the cut, the standard is 10-7-5 — 10% for a win, 7% for a top 10, 5% for everything else,” Collins said.
Applying the 10-7-5 standard that Collins establishes to Scheffler and Scott’s run since November, it’s possible that Scott has made more than $900,000 in the past six months since taking over Scheffler’s bag, with Scheffler winning nearly $8.5 million from his four wins alone.
Even if Scheffler and Scott’s agreement varies from the formula that Collins put forward, it’s safe to say that with Scheffler cashing in for more than $9 million since the start of their relationship, Scott is doing pretty well.
Watson was happy for his former partner after Scheffler and Scott won the Masters on Sunday.
“I have no regrets, and I don’t think he does either,” Watson said after his round. “[Scott] has made more money now without me.”
Watson and Scott won the Masters together twice, in 2012 and 2014, with Watson taking home $1.44 million and $1.62 million for his respective green jacket wins.
Since then, the top prize has grown substantially: The $2.7 million payday Scheffler earned on Sunday nearly matches Watson’s two wins combined.
After the win, Scheffler expressed his thanks and admiration for his new caddie.
“I can’t speak highly enough of Ted as a person and as a caddie,” Scheffler said. “I respect him so much, just as a person. He’s such a fun guy to be around. He’s a man of faith, and I love him. I can’t say enough about him. You know, the qualities you look for in a person, Ted embodies pretty much all of them. He’s humble. He’s hard-working. He’s honest. He’s a good time to be around.”
As for Scott, it appears that his retirement will have to wait for a while longer, as Scheffler is set to return to Augusta National in 2023 as the reigning champion.
“I guess I’m going to have to keep working,” Scott said.
Read the original article on Insider