Golfer Uses His Wife as Caddie: 'Show Up and Shut Up'
There’s an old saying about caddies in golf — “show up, keep up and shut up” — that was far more prevalent years ago than it is today.
After his second-place finish at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Sunday, C.T. Pan, the 26-year-old tour pro from Taiwan, cited that line about his caddie in the post-round interview.
It should be noted that his caddie was his wife, Michelle.
While he was joking, Pan definitely raised some eyebrows with that comment.
Guess who is on my bag this week? This is the true test of my marriage; hopefully, she will still be with me by the end of tournament. @wyndhamchamp #pgatour #golf #liveunderpar #therealboss #teamPan #golfishard pic.twitter.com/h3YCe3xceD
— C.T. Pan (@ctpangolf) August 14, 2018
Pan shot a 66 on Sunday to finish the tournament in a second-place tie with Webb Simpson at 18-under, three shots behind winner Brandt Snedeker.
It was Pan’s best finish on the PGA Tour. Previously, he had won twice on the Canadian tour.
After the round he was asked about the on-course relationship with his wife/caddie.
“She doesn’t help me much,” Pan said, laughing. “She knows too that she needs to just keep up, show up and shut up, I guess.”
“You are going to be in so much trouble after this interview,” said CBS golf reporter Amanda Balionis.
Guessing CT Pan will be apologizing for a while today. @WyndhamChamp pic.twitter.com/jcbYCiITpY
— Bill Speros (@billsperos) August 18, 2018
Pan then went on to say that his wife is helping him more with the mental side of the game.
The key to @CTPanGolf's strong start @WyndhamChamp?
His wife. She's caddying for him this week.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/mXmH26EKXw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 18, 2018
In an interview that the PGA Tour ran on Saturday with the couple, Pan said his wife had a positive impact on him.
“I don’t feel as stressed about making bogeys when she’s around me just because she’s making me more comfortable out there and that’s really helped my mentality,” Pan said. “That’s why I believe I shot a pretty good score out there today and the last couple of days.”
Michelle Pan was only his caddie for this week as his regular caddie couldn’t make it, but judging by the results, maybe he needs to use her more often.
“Since we’ve been together a long time, so we know each other pretty well,” she said. “We joke around and when he has a bad shot I will try to slow him down and remind him that he can have a good chip and make par here. … So what I’m trying to do is help him relax and take deep breaths.”
Pan admitted that his wife gives him good advice.
“A couple times she told me to make up my mind because sometimes in-between shots I wasn’t sure which one I wanted to hit it, or which shot I’m going to go for and she kept reminding me, ‘Make up your mind and execute it.’ I think that’s really helpful and we’ve produced some good results out there too so that was great,” he said.
Been asked by many questions about my caddie (wife) last week. Would like to answer them all in this post 1. She is retired from caddying 😆 and ended her career on a high note. 2. I have a caddy for the next couple events. Thank you for all the offering. pic.twitter.com/HFFLrWT9Rd
— C.T. Pan (@ctpangolf) August 20, 2018
As it turns out, it was a short-lived pairing — on the course, that is. Let’s see how well he plays without her.
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