Jim “Bones” Mackay will come out of retirement — and the NBC/Golf Channel broadcast operations — to caddie for Justin Thomas at next week’s Sony Open.
Phil Mickelson’s ex-caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay to carry Justin Thomas’ bag at Sony Open
Bones will drop his mic to pick up the bag for Justin Thomas at next week’s second leg of the Hawaii swing.
Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images
Mackay traded the golf bag for a headset and microphone when he and former employer Phil Mickelson broke up in June after 25 years as one of the most accomplished player-bagman duo in PGA Tour history. His stint alongside Thomas will likely be a short-term gig while Jimmy Johnson, the full-time looper for the tour’s 2017 Player of the Year, recovers from an injury. After plantar fasciitis sidelined Johnson following two rounds in Kapalua, Thomas’ father Mike Thomas pitched in for Saturday’s third round of the Tournament of Champions and will reprise his role for Sunday’s final day as well.
Thomas, the reigning FedEx Cup and PGA champion, hopes to defend his Sony title after falling far out of contention at the ToC, which he also won last year. With back-to-back 2-over 75s after an opening-round 71, JT will start Sunday’s finale of the tour’s winners-only first event of the new year in 30th place with a week-long score of 2-over — 18 shots back of 54-hole leader Dustin Johnson.
Thomas won five times in 2017 and has earned one victory this season while Mackay has made a successful transition from toting Lefty’s bag to handling on-course reporting duties for NBC and Golf Channel. With Johnson reportedly out for at least a month, Thomas noted that his bag was in good hands for the foreseeable future.
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