Phil Mickelson’s caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay picks up mic for PGA Tour event

Tiger Woods’ ex-caddie Steve Williams may be hogging the headlines with his new tell-all memoir, 12 Years a Slave — er, Out of the Rough — but another famous looper will be on-air at next week’s PGA Tour event at Sea Island.

Golf Channel has hired Jim “Bones” Mackay, who has been Phil Mickelson’s caddie since the five-time major winner joined the tour, as well as Matt Kuchar’s bagman John Wood to provide commentary during the RSM Classic.

We echo the sentiments of NBC and Golf Channel’s lead producer Tommy Roy, who told Doug Ferguson on Thursday it will be “pretty cool” to have a pair of professional insiders analyze the action from their experienced frames of reference.

“Some of the most interesting moments captured by our cameras and microphones over the years have been the player-caddie conversations from the fairways,” Roy said in a statement.

“Mackay and Wood are both excellent communicators and have helped guide their players to multiple PGA Tour victories and major championships,” he added about the duo, who will follow marquee groups Friday and Saturday on the Sea Island Resort course.

Mackay, an eyewitness to many of golf’s most dramatic events, looked forward to seeing things from a different angle.

“It’s an honor for Woody and me to have this opportunity on Golf Channel,” said Mackay. “We have gotten to know course reporters very well over the years, and we’re fascinated with everything that goes into producing and covering a professional golf tournament.”

Wood concurred.

“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to cover the RSM Classic for Golf Channel,” said Wood. “I hope Bones and I can bring a unique perspective to golf on the PGA Tour and that viewers will find interesting what we as caddies are thinking out on the course.

Roy has worked with the two caddies over the last 12 months or so, showing them the inner workings of tournaments from the broadcast side. Though Mackay and Wood know where to stand and what to do when they’re on the bag, they’ll have veteran TV analyst Roger Maltbie helping them hit their marks as on-air reporters.

Wood and Mackay — famed for his prolonged on-course dialogues with Mickelson — will go live for the second round after a practice session on Thursday.

And back to Stevie, who continues to drum up sales by most recently defending the “slave” reference in his book. As Ferguson noted, New Zealander Williams offered background and served as commentator for the NBC-televised Kiwi Challenge back in 2008 (2:33 in the video) — after he helped Tiger win his last major at the U.S. Open.

“In television, you try to come up with new things to attract viewers and enhance the experience for viewers,” said Roy, who told Ferguson the golf networks could make the caddie commentary a regular feature. “We’ll see where it goes from here.”