Matt Fitzpatrick's First Major Triumph Wasn't the Only One Celebrated at the U.S. Open
BROOKLINE, Mass. — It is somewhat fitting that at a place made famous by a young caddie who walked across the street and won the U.S. Open, it was an old caddie who has traversed the world to get to this point, finally winning while carrying the bag for a major champion.
Matt Fitzpatrick put forth a remarkable performance Sunday to win the U.S. Open at The Country Club, but his caddie, Billy Foster, was enjoying the moment just as much.
An hour after Fitzpatrick finished off his victory, Foster was still taking in the scene at The Country Club, reveling in the atmosphere with volunteers and others in the 18th fairway, drinking a Heineken while taking calls of congratulations and trying to get in a few words with reporters.
After a lifetime of carrying bags around the world for great players, Billy Foster can now share in a major championship after Matt Fitzpatrick's U.S. Open win.
Peter Casey/USA Today
Foster, 59, an Englishman who has walked nearly every inch of hallowed ground the game has to offer, worked for the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Thomas Bjorn, Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood during a 40-plus-year career that dates to when he was 16 years old.
But he had never carried the bag of a major champion.
Not until Fitzpatrick delivered a memorable final round, hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation to shoot 68 for a one-shot victory over Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and Will Zalatoris.
For Foster, it was a win that he figured to be in the mid-40s for his career.
“But it’s the one that matters,’’ he said. “Forget the others. It’s a long time coming. A lot of heartache. Thomas Bjorn 2003 (British Open at Royal St. George’s won by Ben Curtis). Couldn’t lose with three holes to play and managed to lose it. Westwood two or three or four times. He three-putted the last (2009 Open at Turnberry won by Stewart Cink over Tom Watson in a playoff). Lost by one. There’s been six or seven 'shoulda, woulda, coulda.' There were a couple with Darren Clarke.’’
Foster has seen and heard just about everything over the years. He began caddying for a South African golfer named Hugh Baiocchi and transitioned to Gordon Brand Jr., for whom he worked his first Ryder Cup in 1987. It was at Muirfield Village in Ohio, and for the first time in history, the European side won in America.
In the early days of the journey, times could be tough. Caddying remains hard work, and the stories told publicly are mostly those of the guys who caddie for the winners to earn huge commissions. But many scrap along, and Foster remembers some long-ago days where the job was hardly glamorous.
“I stayed in hotels where if rats had walked in during the night, they would have taken one look and left because it was too dirty,’’ he said. “But I couldn’t afford anything else.’’
In addition to the times with Ballesteros, Clarke, Garcia and Westwood, Foster also had one-off stint with Tiger Woods. It came at the 2005 Presidents Cup. Woods’ regular caddie, Steve Williams, was home with his wife, who was having a baby.
Woods was close with Clarke, and asked permission to use his caddie for the week.
“That was an incredibly humbling moment,’’ Foster said. “To be asked who I consider the best player of all time. I’ll carry that to my grave, to have caddied for the chosen one.’’
Foster had a 10-year stint with Westwood that included the close call at Turnberry in 2009, as well as other near-misses at the Masters won by Phil Mickelson in 2010 and again at The Open played at Muirfield in 2013, also won by Mickelson.
They decided to part ways in 2018, not due to any animosity, more because it was time. Player-caddie relationships often go stale, and both were ready to move on.
It wasn’t long before Foster hooked up with Fitzpatrick, another Englishman who was showing promise – and who won the U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in 2013.
“It means the world to Billy,’’ Fitzgerald said. “I can't tell you how much it means to Billy. It's unbelievable. I know it's something he's wanted for a long, long, long time. To do it today is incredible.
“We ended up working together. I was kind of in-between caddies. He just split up with Lee, and just happened to work out. It's so funny. He kept telling me the first time on the job, I'll just do 25 weeks and maybe get a fill-in for the others. I think he's had about two weeks off in four years, so yeah.’’
Fitzpatrick opened the tournament with rounds of 68 and 70 and was duly impressive. So much so that Webb Simpson’s caddie, Paul Tesori, who was in the group with him for the first two days, was moved to say:
“When I shook (Foster’s) hand on Friday, I said, 'Congratulations on your first major,' then I said, 'I hope you don’t believe in jinxes.’’’
Of course, Foster was quick to give credit to the player hitting the shots. He’s seen so many over the years, but none as dedicated to the craft as Fitzpatrick – which is saying something.
“His all-around game is great,’’ Foster said. “He’s put on 20 yards this year. He’s chipping cack-handed (left-hand low). Seve would be turning in his grave. He’s really not got a weakness.
“From when I started four years ago, he’s a different animal completely. He bumped it past DJ (Dustin Johnson) a few times this week. He’s a proper player now. I don’t know where it comes from. But his work ethic is like no other. So professional. He works so hard. He deserves it.’’
When it was over, when Zalatoris missed a birdie putt on the 18th that would have tied for the lead, Foster buried his eyes in his cap, getting a consoling shoulder-tug from Fitzpatrick.
Later, he worked his way to the 18th hole pin and kissed the flag before removing as his most revered keepsake.
At the same place where 20-year-old Francis Ouimet, a caddie who lived across the street and stunned the golf world with a U.S. Open playoff victory in 1913, now another caddie had a different kind of inspirational win.
“It’ just so nice to get the monkey off my back,’’ he said. “I didn’t have a monkey on my back, I had a gorilla on my back. And I’m glad to just f--- it off.’’
More U.S. Open Coverage From Morning Read:
> Collin Morikawa Finds Reason To Smile Again After Sunday’s 11-Shot Swing
> Matt Fitzpatrick Found Joy In the Suffering, and His Reward Is the U.S. Open Title
> Jon Rahm’s Bid to Defend His U.S. Open Title Vanishes in Frustrating Sunday
> Why Matt Fitzpatrick’s U.S. Open Trophy Engraving Took So Long
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