The golf world has been enthralled with Tiger Woods this week from his "SUN DAY RED" line dropping to his PGA Tour return after almost a year away. Through all of this, an important question has lingered. Who's going to caddie for Tiger at the 2024 Genesis Invitational?
It's an intriguing situation because Woods is only expected to play in select events this season, so a great caddie is much less likely to take on the role. This is because said caddie would essentially be forfeiting the majority of their yearly earnings just to carry for Woods. In turn, it doesn't make sense for someone like Joe LaCava to take up the role. He's much better off continuing with Patrick Cantlay at this point. But who would jump on to loop for Woods?
Lance Bennett to Caddie for Tiger Woods
Reports on Monday revealed that Tour veteran caddie Lance Bennett will carry the bag for Tiger Woods. This move makes plenty of sense for a veteran like Bennett, who has been a pro caddie for almost 20 years now. He previously served for Matt Kuchar, Bill Haas, Sungjae Im, Patrick Rodgers, Paula Creamer, and Lorena Ochoa — the latter on the LPGA Tour.
Bennett currently carries for former Korn Ferry Tour winner and current PGA rookie Adrien Dumont de Chassart. With Dumont de Chassart not in the field this week, shifting to Woods was an easy decision for Bennett, who has a long-standing relationship with the golf legend.
On Tap at the Tee Box
I don't believe Lance Bennett will be Tiger Woods' permanent caddie for the 2024 season. Taking up the role for the Genesis Invitational is more of a convenient timing scenario for Bennett since Adrien Dumont de Chassart isn't playing.
I believe we'll see a rolling group of caddies for Woods in 2024 depending on the tournaments he commits to. Caddies will do one-off loops for Woods during weeks in which their usual partners aren't participating.
However, it wouldn't be shocking to see Bennett reprise the role for Woods at another point this season, perhaps at THE PLAYERS Championship. Matt Kuchar won the 2012 installment with Bennett on the bag.
Until then, golf fans will have to wait and see who decides to make the most of their opportunity. Only a handful of people will ever get to say, "I carried the bag for Tiger Woods."
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