With So Yeon Ryu rising to No. 1 in the Rolex Women’s World Rankings, Randall Mell takes the opportunity to tell us about the talented golfer and her longtime, devoted caddie Tom Watson.
And that’s pretty much the story of Ryu’s loyal and talented caddie.
Mell writes:
The Aussie Watson’s father was a top-level amateur, a great golf fan.
“My dad watched Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus to win The Open at Turnberry in ’77, and he just loved it,” Ryu’s caddie said. “He knew Tom Watson was a special player. I was born eight months later, and my dad just said, ‘Well, screw it, we’re naming him Tom Watson.’ Unfortunately, he made my middle name Jack, after Jack Nicklaus. So, you know, I was always going to have issues.”
Watson’s father was friends with Ian Baker Finch, another Open champion, and Aussie pro Michael Clayton.
“They knew my dad was completely insane naming me Tom Watson,” Watson said.