Ernie Els wins with unusual caddie platoon
By Bob HarigLYTHAM ST. ANNES, England -- For most of the past 20 years, Ricci Roberts has been there with Ernie Els through the ups and downs of a Hall of Fame career.
All four major championships. A number of close calls, too. A total of 58 worldwide wins, including Sunday's stunning Open Championship victory.
That is why you could see a tear in Roberts' eye as he stood on the putting green while Els was addressing spectators and being awarded the Claret Jug on the 18th green at Royal Lytham & St Annes.
And that's why when Els plays this week in the RBC Canadian Open, Roberts will be … in England watching cricket.
Huh?
Yes, it's a bit strange, this arrangement that Els has with his caddies. Yes, it's plural, because despite all their success together, despite referring to Roberts as "like a brother," Els does not always use him.
This week it will be Dan Quinn, a former hockey player in the NHL who will work for Els at Hamilton Golf Club in Canada, as well as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, the PGA Championship and the first two FedEx Cup playoff events.
It is an arrangement that began in late 2009, extended into all of 2010, had its up and downs in 2011, and now continues again. But during that stretch, Roberts has been on Els' bag for all of his wins, which include two in Florida in 2010.
"Am I making that guy a lot of money or what?" Roberts joked on Sunday, although you can tell there is an edge of uneasiness about the deal.
Specifics of the system are a bit sketchy, but basically the players split the commissions earned on prize money. Els earned just more than $1.4 million for his victory, and the usual caddie take for a win is 10 percent, or in this case $140,000.
That means Quinn would get about $70,000 despite not caddieing at the Open. But he did play golf, and won the American Century Championship, an annual celebrity golf event in Stateline, Nev. (Quinn received $125,000 for his victory over Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo.) Of course, while Roberts is at home in England for the next several weeks, he will get a cut while not working.
Quinn, 46, is clearly a good golfer, but nowhere near Roberts, 48, as a caddie. In addition to Els, Roberts has worked for the likes of Nick Price, Mark McNulty, Charl Schwartzel and Trevor Immelman.
"But obviously all of my success has been with Ernie," Roberts said. "I thrive on it. … He knows me and understands me and I know him and understand him. We feed off each other. That's 58 for me with him. Something must be good."
Roberts concedes that they "have been on and off. We've had more divorces than Liz Taylor and Richard Burton."
Els, for all of his Big Easy persona, is not necessarily so easy when it comes to working for him.
And yet it is clear that Els and Roberts have something. They hooked up late last year when Els made a run at the Frys.com Open. Roberts then suffered an ankle injury that kept him out for a good part of this spring.
After the U.S. Open, where Els tied for ninth after bogeying two of his last three holes, he kept his spirits up instead of getting down on himself. He took some time off to recharge for a hectic run that has him on a five-tournament stretch. Roberts came over to the United Kingdom early, walked the Royal Lytham course -- where Els had been third in 2001 and second in 1996 -- and immediately texted his boss: "You'll love it."
And he did.
Birdies And Bogeys
BIRDIES
1. Ernie Els: He became an unlikely four-time major winner, posting the best score of anyone in the last five groups, then getting the benefit of Adam Scott's collapse at the Open.
2. Brandt Snedeker: The American had never made a cut at the Open, but played the first 36 holes without a bogey, tied for third with Tiger Woods, and put himself in the U.S. Ryder Cup team discussion.
3. Luke Donald: Give the No. 1-ranked player in the world some kudos for perseverance. He managed to find a way to a back-door top five at the Open.
BOGEYS
1. Adam Scott: There's no getting around what happened at Royal Lytham. Scott had the tournament and gave it away.
2. Rory Mcllroy: It has been a strange stretch for Rory of late, with a spell of missed cuts and indifferent play. After getting to 3 under par on Thursday, he was never the same.
3. Phil Mickleson: Just his third missed cut in a major since 2000, this one was ugly. He missed by eight shots.
Senior Open Championship
After making the cut at the Open, Tom Watson heads to Scotland for the Senior Open Championship at Turnberry, which is obviously a special place for him despite what happened there three years ago.
Watson, then 59, lost in a playoff to Stewart Cink after failing to par the final hole, which would have made him the oldest major winner by 11 years. It was an amazing tournament, one that makes Turnberry a bit bittersweet.
That is where Watson defeated Jack Nicklaus in the famous "Duel in Sun" Open in 1977, shooting 65-65 on the weekend to Nicklaus' 65-66. He also won the Senior Open there in 2003.
"There's a lot of comfort there and some disappointment," Watson said. "But there's some comfort there. I've had two nice wins and an almost win. The beauty of the place is the first thing I think about. I think about the Ailsa Craig and the lighthouse and that beautiful sunset that occurred on Wednesday, the night before The Open in 2009. It was the most gorgeous thing, it was orange red for an hour and a half. It was absolutely spectacular.
"And the golf course, you know, there's kind of tricks to play it. How do you drive the ball at 9 and get the ball in the fairway? I still haven't figured that out. I really haven't. But there are others, there are other holes there that I know how to play and I just hope my game is good enough to play it."
Quotable
"He hit a great drive down the middle of 17, and half of England right of that pin, and he missed it left." -- Graeme McDowell explaining a crucial mistake made by Adam Scott on the 17th hole, leading to a bogey and dropping him into a tie with Ernie Els. Scott would bogey the last to lose by one.
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