When a player changes their caddie days before a major tournament, it is rarely a simple logistical reshuffle. This week at Muirfield Village, Billy Horschel arrives carrying a lot: a season that hasn’t gone to plan, a hip surgery comeback still finding its feet, and now a new face on the bag.

“We are going to take a break for right now.” Billy Horschel told Golfweek, “That doesn’t mean I may not work with Micah again. In a couple of months’ time, I may want him back on the bag.”

The shakeup comes just ahead of the $20M Memorial Tournament, with Horschel ending his partnership with his longtime caddie Micah Fugitt, who has been fired. For now, veteran caddie James Edmondson will be on his bag on a trial basis.

94th in FedEx Cup standings, the eight-time PGA Tour winner has posted one top-10 finish, the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, since his return from hip surgery. In fact, he missed the cut in two of his last three starts. Despite the turbulent stretch and the recovery that has lasted nearly 18 months, Horschel was measured in how he shared the split with his caddie.

To understand the weight of this split, it helps to know just how much the duo has been through together. Micah Fugitt began working with Billy Horschel in 2012, and the two have spent five and a half years together before parting ways in 2017. Their partnership produced one of the most defining chapters in the PGA Tour’s history, when Horschel won the FedEx Cup in 2014.

That 2014 run remains Fugitt’s greatest memory as a caddie, and now, a decade later, the partnership is paused.

“He finished second, win-win, on his way to the FedEx Cup triumph in 2014,” he said.

They shared a warm bond off the ropes, too. When Horschel claimed the FedEx Cup and its $14.8 million bonus, he handed Fugitt $1 million. The gesture caught Fugitt by surprise, and he said he would use the bonus to set up a college fund for his two children.

“He’s always been great about showing gratitude to people like that,” he said later.

Despite their successful run together, Horschel decided to part ways to “change things up.” Fugitt reflected on it a year later, as he shared,

“It’s business. I understand, and you learn that it’s usually not personal and there’s no point in hurting relationships.”

Horschel decided to part ways to change things up in 2017, but the split lasted only six years. Billy Horschel won the Corales Puntacana Championship in April 2024, claiming his eighth PGA Tour title.

“I was fortunate enough that Micah agreed to come back on the bag last May, and Micah has been unbelievable. Even when we were playing really badly last year, when he came on the bag, he was positive the entire time.” Horchel said later.

Just months later, Billy Horschel beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the 2024 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, becoming the first American to win that event twice. He also contended deep into the final holes of the Open Championship that year, finishing as a runner-up.

Billy Horschel hands his bag to veteran James Edmondson.

James Edmondson recently carried bags for Bryce Garnett at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He is a Fort Worth, Texas native who played college golf at the University of Houston but realized he could make a better caddie. And since then, he has been caddying for Ryan Palmer. Their partnership was one of the most enduring ones the Tour has seen. By 2014, the two had been together for 12 years. In fact, Edmondson often joked that he had more verbal disagreements with Palmer than with his own wife.

Around the tour, Edmondson is respected for his knowledge of course strategy, club selection, and green reading. Just as importantly, he has earned a reputation for remaining calm under pressure. In fact, at the Byron Nelson Championship, Palmer even handed Edmondson complete control of every club selection for the round.

He said, “It was totally up to him. I just did the swinging.”

Recently, in a video shared by the PGA Tour, Billy Horschel spoke about his recovery and his determination to return to top form. He is also looking forward to achieving one of his biggest goals, winning a major as he turns 39 this year.

“I still believe even at 38, turning 39 at the end of the year, I believe I am nowhere close to reaching my potential,” he said. “I believe there is a lot of really good golf left in store for me… Hopefully, for the next four, five, six years, we can put two or three really solid years together and see what comes out of it. I think if I am able to do that, I think some of the goals that I still haven’t accomplished will be accomplished.”

Now we all look forward to the weekend at the Murfield Village.