Bryson DeChambeau’s former caddie Tim Tucker is filling in the gaps about his sudden breakup with the eight-time PGA Tour winner.
Tucker, in a lengthy interview on Golf’s “Subpar” podcast, expressed his regret about leaving the bag one day before DeChambeau competed in the Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier this month.
“I made a big mistake in my timing with it,” Tucker said of the unexpected split, which stirred up rumors he was at odds with DeChambeau. Tucker, though, said there is no “animosity” between the two.
“It shouldn’t have happened that way; we should have finished out the week. I didn’t mean to put that pressure on him,” Tucker said, noting that DeChambeau likely “had a lot on his mind” playing at the tournament.
“I regret how that all went down,” said Tucker, who caddied all of DeChambeau’s PGA Tour wins, including the 2020 U.S. Open.
Tucker admitted there were a “combination” of things that led to his split with DeChambeau, who he described as “very demanding.”
“I think that’s a great attribute from an employer because it makes you get better. If you’re not getting better and learning and pushing everything you’re doing, then you become complacent and start making mistakes and you’re not continuing to grow. He makes you do that, and it’s unbelievable,” Tucker said. “He demands it from everybody.”
One of DeChambeau’s demands, according to Tucker, includes a vast pre-tournament scouting routine — from calculating yardages, to crunching numbers to test air density and green density.
DeChambeau, according to Tucker, is apparently so detail-oriented and curious that he’d attempt experiments with golf balls to perfect his game — such as, freezing golf balls and dumping balls in a hot tub to see how temperatures affected spin rates. Other actions include spritzing his balls with water.
Despite apparently having to hand DeChambeau his clubs a certain way, among other “demands,” Tucker is grateful for his time on the bag with the world No. 6 golfer.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be able to caddie for this guy. He is the hardest-working guy I’ve ever seen, sacrifices everything for this game,” he said of DeChambeau’s work ethic.
“Bryson knows all the answers – I just walk him through the steps. He’s got so much going on in his brain. I’m not telling him what to do. We’re just presenting the problem and solving the problem, that’s all,” said Tucker, who’s now running a luxury-shuttle service at Bandon Dunes.
DeChambeau’s caddie debacle was followed by a series of unfortunate events this month.
After he struggled at the British Open, DeChambeau landed in hot water when he blamed his golf woes on his Cobra brand driver — a big sponsor and advocate of his. He said the driver “sucks” when asked about his 1-over-par 71 after hitting four-of-14 fairways at Royal St. George’s.
DeChambeau later issued a public apology after Cobra’s tour operations manager, Ben Schomin — who temporarily stepped in as DeChambeau’s caddie when Tucker quit — fired back. The drama, of course, prompted a sly response from fellow golfer Brooks Koepka, whose ongoing feud with DeChambeau is well documented.
Most recently, the 27-year-old was forced to back out of the Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.
