The Masters’ Oldest Caddie

Tommy Fleetwood hung back a little, easing his gait, the way friends do. Gray Moore shuttled along, trying to keep up, but resigned to his own speed. Sometimes it’s tough to tell which side his limp favors, right or left. The hobble sure seems painful.

It was a little after 4 o’clock on Friday. Fleetwood and Moore were completing their 26th hole of the day, up and down and around Augusta National, where the hills and slopes rise and fall and the fairways are shaped like whalebacks. It’s one of the most demanding walks in golf, but one they both know and one they’re making together this week. It was the duo’s second day in the 88th Masters Tournament, the result of circumstances no one wants but that have to be maneuvered.

Because maybe that’s what it’ll take to win.

Fleetwood, 33, has played 33 career majors. Back in 2019, when his hair was even longer, he was a 20-something with two solo runner-up major finishes. The breakthrough felt inevitable. Now it’s 2024 and everyone is still waiting, no one more so than Fleetwood, a curious player who isn’t especially long, isn’t especially strong but is obviously a world-class talent.

For the past eight years, Fleetwood has navigated professional golf with a shadow that could cover Augusta’s 14th green. His caddie, Ian Finnis, is 6 feet 6. He has arms like fire hoses and looks like he should star opposite Jason Statham. Their partnership goes back to their teenage years along the English coastline, just outside Liverpool. As a 15-year-old, Finnis caddied for Fleetwood in major amateur events like the British Amateur, the English Amateur and the Lytham Trophy. As an adult, he was the best man in Fleetwood’s wedding.

Fleetwood estimates that Finnis, known around professional golf as “Finno,” has been on his bag in all but one event in the past eight years. The lone event he missed was for the birth of a child. The partnership has survived everything but is now navigating some hard realities. Since December, Finnis has suffered complications from an illness that has finally forced him to step away. The decision was made for Finnis to return home and rest following The Players Championship in March, miss one event — last week’s Texas Open — then return for Fleetwood’s eighth career Masters appearance.

As this week arrived, though, Finnis was still home in Liverpool. The Telegraph reported he is suffering from a chest infection.

Which is why, earlier this week, Jesse “Gray” Moore strolled over to Terry Holt, a Champions Tour caddie who works for former Masters champion Mike Weir, and asked, “So am I the oldest one here or are you?” Holt laughed, eyed up Moore and said, “Well, I’m 65.”

“Welp, I got ya by a few,” Moore said.

With a gray goatee and a voice at a whisper, Moore, 70, has spent parts of 30 some-odd years at Augusta National, we think. The details are loose. Augusta National club rules restrict any and all employees from commenting on anything regarding the club, but we know for sure he looped this course for years before eventually working his way into the club’s caddie office, handling training and scheduling duties. He hasn’t walked on every blade of grass, but he at least knows how each bends.

In 2017, entering their first Masters, Fleetwood and Finnis were linked up with Moore to answer all their requisite questions and he joined them for a practice round. As the years went by, he turned into their advance scout, sharing what he knew about any changes being made to the course. Because players in the Masters field who are not former champions have to go through certain club protocols to play the course before tournament week, including needing to use one of their caddies, Fleetwood always used Moore for those early-season practice rounds while Finnis followed along.

It’s called local knowledge, and Moore has it by the barrel. He was born and raised in Augusta, growing up playing Augusta Municipal Golf Course, and later became the city course’s assistant pro. According to longtime Augusta Chronicle writer David Westin, Moore didn’t exactly give lessons but more so made sure the place stayed open.

Augusta Municipal, known locally as “The Patch,” is about 7 miles from Augusta National, out near the regional airport, across the street from American Legion Post 205, where bingo is scheduled for every Thursday. There, Ira Miller, the course general manager, said Moore is a modern throwback to another era, back when local caddies were required to be used by Masters participants. Now lionized in history, the Black caddies of Augusta National became an institution, from Jim “Big Boy” Dent to Ike “Stabber” Choice to Tommy “Burnt Biscuits” Bennett. The club controversially lifted its locals-only rule in 1982, making way for pros to bring their preferred caddies.

Moore, who is White, represents a time when the town still had its place in the tournament field.

“He’s a pretty good guy,” said Bobby “Cigarette” Jones, an 84-year-old Patch regular and former Augusta caddie in the heyday. “And he’s a good card player.”

by Brendan Quinn, The Athletic | Read more:
Image: Jamie Squire/Getty Images
[ed. Masters Sunday. Tommy's my favorite but a little too far back I think, unless he has an amazing round. We'll see. [UPDATE]: Scheffler wins again...zzzz.]