Ever wonder about the financial relationship between a professional golfer and his caddie? LPGA Tour caddie Matt Gelczis, who lived on the Grand Strand from 1999-2004, offered some insight into that relationship recently.
Gelczis has caddied on the LPGA Tour since 2003 and has occasionally caddied on the Nationwide Tour as well.
He said the salary of an LPGA Tour caddie is generally $1,000 per week, it’s likely less on the Nationwide Tour and more on the PGA Tour.
Then there is the common percentages of 10-7-5: 10 percent for a win, 7 percent for a top 10, 5 percent for a finish outside the top 10. Gelczis said the Nationwide is probably less than $1,000 per week because the purses are smaller, and PGA Tour is probably more.
Travel expenses such as flights are often thrown in, though caddies are usually on their own for hotels and rental cars. “Quite honestly, there’s only about five [LPGA] caddies making money any more,” Gelczis said.
O'Toole has the tools
Gelczis started the year caddying for Kristy McPherson and has bounced around since. One player he looped for that he was particularly impressed with was Ryann O’Toole.
She turned pro in 2009 out of UCLA, won two 2010 Futures Tour events and appeared on Golf Channel’s Big Break Sandals Resorts show last year.
“I think there are Solheim Cups in her future,” he said. “She’s incredibly long and a really aggressive player. If she learns to dial it down at the right time and improves her short game, she’ll be someone you’ll hear from.
“My advice to her was spend this year working with different caddies, find what you like, then next year make a call.”
O’Toole is proving Gelczis to be prophetic. Her 3-under-par 69 in Thursday’s opening round of the Wegmans LPGA Championship has her tied for seventh in the LPGA’s second major of the season.
