Yes, we’re announcing caddies on the first tee this week at the 2025 BMW Championship at Caves Valley. No, we’re not sure how to feel about it.
The BMW Championship, in conjunction with the Western Golf Association, does a ton of great things. The WGA runs the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards scholarships—full tuition and lodging—to some of its best caddies. It’s a sensational program that deserves as much credit as we can give it.
The organization also does fantastic things for pro caddies this week, including courtesy cars for all caddies in the field.
More and more tournaments treat caddies like players with elevated dining options and access to other amenities. We’re all for it. We’re just not sure how to feel about the BMW Championship’s decision to add caddie names to the first-tee announcements this week.
We mention this mostly in jest. We like tournaments doing something different on the first tee like the walk-up music at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans has been a fun touch. Usually introductions before a sporting event are reserved for the actual athlete competing. We like the spotlight on caddies, but also not sure if we’ve gone too far by actually announcing the names of guys on the first tee who are not hitting golf shots. What do you think? Shrink or expand?
The feedback has been mostly positive so far, so we’re ready to stand down.
