Chris Paisley welcomes new caddie Jason Palmer to his team and shares his reaction to watching Tiger Woods win The Masters
The obvious choice of subject for this month’s column was Tiger’s 15th major victory at The Masters. Unfortunately I don’t possess the literary skills necessary to do justice to such an incredible moment. All I will say is that it was the first time I have cried watching a golf event.
The big news in my world is that I have a new caddy. Following the event in Malaysia, I contacted my good friend Jason Palmer to see if he would like to take over from Sean Russell. Sean and I worked together for a little over four years and I have to say, he was brilliant; everything you could ask for in a caddy and friend. I want to thank him for his hard work, loyalty, and friendship. We had some great times and some tough times, but he was there every step of the way. He saw me at my best and my worst that’s for sure! Unfortunately all good things come to an end.
So, why the change? Sean didn’t do anything wrong to be honest, it certainly wasn’t an easy decision. I feel as though Jason’s experience as a player will be a big help. Jason was a very successful player in his own right. Following a few years of Alps Tour and Challenge Tour he earned his full European Tour card for the 2015 season. Unfortunately he had a complicated wrist injury, which cut his season and ultimately his career short. His final event was the US Open at Chambers Bay!
We have been good pals since amateur golf after meeting through a mutual friend. It is pretty clear that Jason has all the skills to be a top caddy, and I was delighted that he accepted my proposal after a few days of consideration. He is an extremely hard worker and I believe he will bring more of a players perspective to the job since he has been there and done it himself. One of his big strengths as a player was his course management, which I think could help me a lot.
We’ve just completed our first tournament together, the Hassan II Trophy in Morocco. A respectable T-38th finish was a good start. My long game was not quite up to scratch to allow me to compete for the win but our strategy, attitude, and discipline meant we turned what could have been a missed cut into a decent finish. I’m excited to see how we can kick on – there were so many positives. All I need to do is tighten up my long game and we should be up there contending for wins again.
My next event is the British Masters. It’s sure to be one of the highlights of my season so hopefully I can give Tommy Fleetwood a run for his money.
