Last year around this time Kyle Peters had gotten off a private jet and landed in Augusta, Georgia – thanks, well, entirely, to Corey Conners’ dramatic win at the Valero Texas Open.
It’s a bit different this year as the golf world navigates the COVID-19 health crisis. Peters, who has been Conners’ caddie during his entire time on the PGA Tour, can’t wait to get back out there.
Peters hails from Charleston, South Carolina and has been through all of the ups and downs with his boss – from having to go through Monday Qualifiers together (even in Hawaii) to winning his first title in Texas in 2019.
Peters tells us what it was like to notch that first win, what cities he loves visiting, some of the biggest legends in caddying, and what are some on-course moments he can laugh about now.
How did you start caddying?
I played golf growing up – junior golf and college golf. Through people growing up I met and played with, I knew some girls who played on the LPGA and one of them was like, ‘just come out to a tournament and we’ll get you set up.’ It started as a summer job, the week of my 19th birthday. I drove down to Mobile, Alabama and Libby Smith Monday Qualified and I got set up with her. That’s how I started. I was really, really young.
When did you and Corey first get together?
We first met on the Korn Ferry Tour, and I was making little (green-reading) books out there and he would buy one from me every week. That’s how we first met, and then after the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Jacksonville, the following week (the PGA Tour) was in Napa, California. At the time I was working for Nicholas Thompson and my plan was Sunday night to fly from Jacksonville to Napa and hopefully get someone from the Monday Qualifier, but (the Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Jacksonville) had a Monday finish. Corey missed the cut and was already out in Napa, but the guy who was going to caddie for him ended up not being able to make it. I stayed with Nick on Monday while he finished, and I was going to fly out to Napa but I had already missed the Monday Qualifier. Tuesday morning at like 7 or 8 my phone went off and it was a buddy of mine and he was like, ‘Corey needs a caddie, how fast can you get to Napa’ and I said, ‘I’ll be at the airport within an hour, tell him I’ll meet him at the turn’ (laughs). I met him in the fairway on No. 10.
And the rest is history?
Yeah. At the time I was just going to do it for one week and I knew that there could be potential to work for him down the road. We had a decent week, I think we finished 30th or something, but at the end of the week I told him I had booked all those fall events and if he needed someone that would be great. A couple of weeks after that I was caddying at the First Stage of Korn Ferry Tour Q-School in West Palm Beach. While I was there that week he asked if I wanted to have dinner and he offered the job to me that week. At the time that was just for the fall, which was a bit of a trial run, and it went well, so he said, ‘well see you in Hawaii’ and we’ve been together ever since.
Corey has talked about how he felt during his uncertain schedule last year – having to chase Monday Qualifiers, etc. – but for you, did you believe Corey would always breakthrough and how did you manage that?
If I went with him to a Monday Qualifier and he didn’t get through, he was totally fine with me working for someone else. It only happened two times. Both times were at San Diego. It was the beginning of the year, he wasn’t playing, and I wanted something to do. The thing that helped a lot to ease my mind as well was finishing second in Jackson (Mississippi, at the Sanderson Farms Championship in October, 2018). He had a big payday there and that helped me out as well. From there on out I wasn’t worried about losing money. A lot of caddies wouldn’t go with their player out to Hawaii for a Monday Qualifier, but I was with him out there, I was with him in Mexico, I went to a lot of places were guys probably wouldn’t do that. When you’re in those Monday Qualifiers, Corey is definitely in the top tier of those fields. He’s not going to get through every time but his chances are pretty good.
The week of the Valero started with a Monday Qualifier and ended with a win. A year later, is it still hard to put into words?
Yeah, it is (laughs). It was a lot of hard work that he put in and getting lucky a few times but it’s so hard to put into words. It was an awesome week and a lot of great memories there.
The Sunday in Texas was filled with ups and downs. What did you say to Corey as you made the turn? What was your role?
Walking off the ninth green there wasn’t a whole lot of conversation between us but I just said, ‘You know it’s a new nine, let’s start over again.’ That was the only thing I said to him, he didn’t really say anything back to me, but we hopped in the cart… it’s a 2-3 minute ride. Him and (Malory, Corey’s wife) sat in the middle. I don’t think there was any conversation between them, but he used that time to settle his thoughts and get refocused for the second nine.
What’s the most fun thing about being a caddy on the PGA Tour?
The best and the worst part is the travel. It’s a lot of fun to go around, make new friends, see new cities and go to all these places and getting to hang out with all the guys on Tour. Right now I really miss everybody. It’s a really close-knit group of guys and they’re some of my best friends out there. I miss seeing all those guys. And getting to see the best courses in the world, those are some of the most fun things.
Players say it’s so cool to be in a group with Tiger Woods, for example – are there any caddie legends that you are honoured to be in a group with?
In Minnesota last year we were paired with Jason Day for the first two rounds. Steve (Williams) has probably won 80 times in his career. I kept my eye on him and what he was doing. And also (Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan). I love being out there with him because he’s like a kid. Steve isn’t as fun as Fluff but you have a lot of respect for him for everything he’s done.
Most fun city the PGA Tour goes to?
I guess Las Vegas. You’re not going out and partying but there is still some fun stuff going on.
Best food city the PGA Tour goes to?
I’ve got a couple. I really like Memphis for the barbecue, and also Tokyo for the sushi and seafood.
What’s one thing in Corey’s bag that people might get a laugh out of?
Corey doesn’t have anything weird in the bag, maybe just old yardage books or training aids. But if there’s anything weird it’s my stuff (laughs). Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday I’ve got my bag of things I carry and most of the stuff in there we don’t even use. I have discs, and I have, it’s called a “Break Master” – it’s like a level that’s electronic and it shows you exactly how many degrees of slope and where the green is breaking towards. I always have it but he never asks to use it (laughs). And then this year I for Christmas I got a wind gauge to see how fast the wind is blowing and I pulled that out once this year, at Kapalua. I’ve got these caddie tools that never get used, so if someone went into the bag and saw them they’d said, ‘well what the heck is that?’
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made as a caddie that now is pretty funny but in the moment you were worried?
The first one I thought of – it was my second year caddying on the LPGA Tour. We were at Q-School and there were two courses and they were not close together. The girl I was caddying for, we walked off the range and she said, “I’ll meet you on the tee” and I started to walk to the wrong course. Thankfully the girl’s mom was walking my direction and she found me and said, ‘oh we’re on the other course.’ That would have been really bad (laughs).
The other one happened at Augusta last year. It ended up not being a penalty or anything, but it was right when they had made the new rule about standing in a player’s line. I always have a good sense of Corey’s pace of play, but we were in a greenside bunker on No.10 and he had about 20-25 feet left after he hits it out. At the time we were a little bit behind and I hopped in the bunker and started raking and I popped my head up and I saw him and I was really close to his line. I shuffled out of there really fast. We were paired with Tony Finau so me and his caddie were like, ‘that was really close.’ I finished raking the bunker, everyone taps in, and then there’s an official behind the green and he walks out onto the green and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh. Not here. Don’t do this.’ I’m having a heart attack. The official comes out and says, ‘you’re getting behind on your pace of play. You need to pick it up.’