Most of us waiting for $9 million to be deposited in our bank account would be checking the online balance every five minutes. Rory McIlroy, on the other hand, is a little more relaxed about these things.
He first learned that his bonus for winning the Tour Championship season finale on the US PGA Tour in September (or, more accurately, 90 per cent of it up front – $9 million) had been paid was when he received a message from his long-time caddie J.P. Fitzgerald.
“I think his words were, ‘A tsunami just hit my bank account, so thank you very much,’” McIlroy said on the eve of the HSBC Champions. “J.P. got a nice percentage of that, so I knew at that point it was already there.”
McIlroy actually paid Fitzgerald 10 per cent of the $9 million, then another 10 per cent of the $1.53 million he earned for winning the Tour Championship. “So the total was $1.05 million,” McIlroy said. “I think he was quite happy.”
This single payday (which is what the 100th ranked player won for the whole 2015-16 season) is exceptional but the top caddies can make quite a lucrative living – if their players are in hot form, of course.
A Forbes study found that, in 2014, at least 10 caddies on tour earned as much as $600,000. Most established players pay around eight per cent of prizemoney and 10 per cent for a win to their caddie, according to James Edmondson, president of the Association of Professional Tour Caddies, although younger players and those without a consistent caddie might revert to the traditional five/seven/10 per cent formula for these results: making a cut/top 10/winning. Caddies also earn $1,500 to $2,500 per event in base pay.
