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Who Is Jon Yarbrough? Phil Mickelson’s New Caddie Explored

Published 03/26/2024, 7:52 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The relationship between a caddie and a golfer is vital on the greens. Well, no one would know this better than Phil Mickelson, who has had his younger brother Tim Mickelson as his looper since 2017. However, now that the younger sibling has decided to retire from caddying, curiosity naturally arises as to who would help the LIV Golf Pro from now on. Cue! Enter Jon Yarbrough.

Although the athlete has not officially confirmed anything regarding his new bagman, he is reportedly set to have employed Yarbrough for his bags. Anyhow, it is natural for the community to be interested in the veteran caddie from the PGA Tour that the 53-year-old has, per reports, decided to rope in for his next start in Miami along with the upcoming major at Augusta National!

Phil Mickelson employs Jon Yarbrough as caddie

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The Atlanta native has been on the bags for more than 21 years and has picked up quite a reputation as a professional caddie on the Jay Monahan-led circuit as well as the LPGA Tour during the same. Interestingly, he has helped out many golfers, including the likes of Scott Stallings, Kelly Robbins, Laura Diaz, Suzanne Pettersen, Morgan Pressel, Kris Cox, DJ Brigman, John Mallinger, Bill Haas, Gary Woodland, and Smylie Kaufman.

The American completed his education at Newman Smith High School, Carrolton, Texas, where he graduated from the class of 1991. Following that, he managed to get into the University of North Texas, where he started playing collegiate golf.

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Consequently, the looper himself boasts a certain skill when it comes to the game. Interestingly, if he is asked what his greatest memory in the sport is, then Yarbrough would recount the last round of golf he played with his father. That’s not all. Elaborating on the best part about being a caddie, the bagman once said, “Being as close to the action as I can get without playing the game I love.”

Meanwhile, the caddie has also spent some time carrying the bags for veteran PGA Tour Pro Hunter Mahan. What’s more, he had even gone ahead to support the now-41-year-old athlete during his 2016 PLAYERS Championship appearance, where he won the contest for loopers on the 17th.

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Yarbrough wins caddie contest at TPC Sawgrass

During the 2016 edition of the event deemed as ‘The Fifth Major’ of golf, the professionals stepped aside for their caddies to tee it off as part of the Bruce Edwards Memorial Caddie Competition. During the same, Mahan’s bagman, Yarbrough, managed to hit his shot to 5 feet, 3 inches on the 135-yard iconic hole. This helped him win a painting of the 17th hole by Casey Jones, along with a clubhouse parking pass for the week’s tournament, a money clip, and an undisclosed sum of cash.

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Anyhow, it seems Mickelson’s reported new looper’s love for the game is quite a big one, seeing as how he has helped so many athletes on the greens as well as winning the memorial contest in 2016. Anyhow, with the new looper in tow, many of his fans would be expecting the LIV golfer to come back strong in Miami as well as rake in his 7th major win at the upcoming Masters Tournament!

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Written by:

Allan Abe

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Allan Abe is a Senior Golf Writer at EssentiallySports. Armed with a Master’s Degree in English, he has covered many themes in golf as a beat writer, with in-depth coverage of instances of many golfers’ lives, like Bubba Watson and Adam Scott. Allan particularly excels at live coverage and a hole-to-hole analysis of events.
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Edited by:

Tushhita Barua

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