Billy Foster isn’t done with caddying.
He split with Matt Fitzpatrick in March, ending a six-year bond that saw both Yorkshiremen win their first major title at the US Open in 2022.
Foster was as emotional and ecstatic as Fitzpatrick at Brookline three years ago when Will Zalatoris missed a putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff. He hadn’t won one of the big four events to that point, in four decades of caddying for Seve Ballesteros, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn, and Sergio Garcia.
The 59-year-old is now on the outside looking in, but he is still keen to carry on once the right bag presents itself.
“At the minute, I’m just doing company days, a bit of after-dinner speaking, I help a few young lads with their course management. Ideally, I want to go back to caddying, I’m 59. I could probably see myself having another two or three years,” Foster, speaking at the Leeds American Golf for the #RifeDontMiss putting challenge.
“I’d like to get back out there, whether it be on the LIV Tour, the Senior Tour, the Ladies Tour, the European Tour or the PGA Tour. I’ll know when the right offer comes in. I still feel as though it’s unfinished business as such.
“It’s been a part of my life since I was 16 years old. I’ve been on a 43-year stag do and I want to get back out with the lads and enjoy it. It’s been my life, travelling and being on the golf course.
“I thoroughly enjoy it and the camaraderie with the lads. I love it. I’m a bit like a fish out of water at the minute and I’m not going to accept getting up in the morning and not knowing what to do. The sooner I get back, the better.”
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What might stick out to golf fans is that Foster wouldn’t rule out working with a player in the LIV Golf League, having caddied mainly on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour throughout his career.
Westwood and Garcia swapped sides to the Saudi-funded circuit in 2022, two of Foster’s old bosses. Quite staggeringly, Foster has caddied in 16 Ryder Cups for Team Europe against Team USA, and in turn has shared changing rooms and fairways with the likes of Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson, Graeme McDowell, Paul Casey and Martin Kaymer – all of whom now ply their trade with LIV.
It is no secret that some caddies in the breakaway circuit prefer how they are treated compared with when they used to work on the long-established tours. Their expenses are covered, transport is arranged, and in some quarters, LIV’s treatment of caddies has been compared to the level of treatment afforded to players.
This isn’t to say Foster is LIV-bound, far from it. But the perks aren’t lost on the experienced looper, who first caddied for Hugh Baiocchi in the mid-1980s.
“The LIV Tour is like it’s been designed by the caddies’ association,” Foster said. “It’s like everything a caddie dreams of. Your expenses are all paid for you, your man plays rubbish, and he finishes last, gets $100,000. It’s three rounds instead of four, it’s an afternoon tee time and a shotgun every time.
“There are no early starts. You’re in the bar with the lads afterwards, all at the same time,” he adds. “It’s absolutely golden, and it’s brilliant prize money. 54 players instead of 150 players, so you’re making a good wage every week, there’s nothing about the LIV Tour that doesn’t appeal to the caddie.”
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Foster appeared at the second #RifeDontMiss Challenge, celebrating the launch of the new RIFE Black Edition putters. To register for the final qualifier and be in with a chance of winning £50,000, sign up here.
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