Published 03/29/2023, 7:00 PM EDT
Apr 29, 2021; Palm Harbor, Florida, USA; Mike Visacki (L) and his caddie Kaylor Steger (R) walk up the fairway on the 5th hole during the first round of the Valspar Championship golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Golf players make the game exciting by adding spice to the sport by their undying commitment and hard work. They often face struggles during their journey which get highlighted every now and then. However, it is not always the players who face struggle.
Apart from players, caddies also have to go through a lot to get on the golf course. However, their struggle stories are mostly overlooked. Here is one such struggle story of a caddie named Wayne Birch.
A series of struggles before success for Wayne Birch
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Birch has been a PGA Tour caddie for 9 long years now. However, Birch’s career has not been going well recently. Having caddied for some big names, Birch tells his story how he struggled recently to land a job. In an interview video with the PGA Tour, Birch talks about his history as a caddie and his recent success following a rough patch.
Birch feels lucky enough to have caddied for Andrew Loupe for three and a half years, and then Troy Merritt for four years. However, Birch’s life after his split with Merritt was hard. After Merritt, the only stable bag Birch picked was for Tyler McCumber for a few weeks only before his shoulder injury. However, Birch has been grinding his way back on to the course again. Talking about his grind Birch said, “You got to have a strong chin, it’s a grind. You got to have a heart and passion for it.”
After going out there every week to get a bag, Birch has finally got some success after his long grind. This week, his efforts paid off when Birch was hired by Valero Texas Open Monday qualifier Peter Lansburgh. While talking to the media Birch said, “I feel like it was a success, you know? I feel like I Monday qualified.”
Good days ahead for Wayne Birch?
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While Birch feels like you got have a passion in your heart, his passion has just worked out for him. Lansburgh even went on to admire Birch’s grind and hard work. Lansburgh said how good it feels to have such an experienced guy like Birch around. The Monday qualifier went on to talk highly about the Birch’s understanding of the game.
USA Today via Reuters Jun 15, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Rory McIlroy (left) plays a shot on the 14th hole as caddie Harry Diamond (right) looks on during a practice round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports
It really feels like the duo is going to get along just fine. Lansburgh has qualified for the Valero Texas Open and Birch has got a whole lot of experience to keep Lansburgh moving forward. Both the player and the caddie feel positive about this team-up. However, it remains to be known how it works out in the future.
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What are your views about the struggle caddies have to go through? Do let us know in the comments below.
Watch this story: ‘Been Really Tough…’: LPGA Star Makes An Honest Confession About Her Mental Struggles