A well-known golf star like Rory McIlroy was known to be a choker when it came to converting a win. Golf may look like a simple game of clubs and balls to outsiders, but for players, it’s a mental and physical grind. The nerves of the back nine, the pressure of a final-round putt, and even the spike in heart rate that comes with tournament-defining moments are all too real. Russell Henley, currently tied for the lead at the 2025 TOUR Championship, knows this well. And in those high-pressure situations, one steady presence makes all the difference for him: his caddie, Andrew Sanders.

Caddies are known to be the right arm of golfers, looking after things the players on the course might not be able to. And when the pressure mounts — as it often does in golf — the strength of that relationship can be the difference between faltering and winning. Even 1973 US Open Champion Johnny Miller once said, “I don’t think anywhere is there a symbiotic relationship between caddie and player like there is in golf,” Henley knows this firsthand.

“He’s [Sanders] very calm and collected. Great decision maker, knows me really well, and kind of balances out my kind of nature and high heart rate,” he told Garrett Johnston in an episode of Beyond the Clubhouse. This spree of appreciation for his caddie is not new. In another interview last year, on the same channel, Henley had called Sanders “confident,” which gives him “a lot of confidence as well.“

Even Sanders admires their relationship, appreciating the American and his game of play. “When I first started working for him, he was hitting draws, and we decided a tournament ago, right in the middle of the tournament at Congaree, that he was going to start hitting fades. He didn’t do anything physically to do it; he just went ‘Alright, I’ll just aim down the left side and hit fades.’ And he just did it, just like that. Some golfers find it hard to transition, but he made it very easy,” Andrew Sanders said as reported by GolfMagic.

Hanley and Sanders teamed up midway through the 2022 PGA Tour season, and the partnership clicked almost immediately. Sanders, who once played competitive golf himself and qualified for the 2000 US Open at just 20 years of age, already had a decent reputation on the Tour. His name is associated with players like Jimmy Walker, whom he caddied for during his 2016 PGA Championship. Hence, Sanders has proved his ability in guiding a player through the most intense conditions. With Hanley too, Sanders has helped him steer some of his biggest moments, such as the 2022 World Wide Technology Championship and, most recently Arnold Palmer Invitational in February 2025.

The Arnold Palmer win was the clearest example of their chemistry. Coming down the stretch on the final day, Henley relied on Sanders’s steady presence. On the par-5 16th hole, a clutch eagle – set up by Sanders’s precise read – shifted the momentum and became the turning point in the tournament. For Henley, it was proof of how much the calm reassurance of his caddie mattered in the heat of the moment.

Sanders’s impact extends beyond reading greens. His experience allows him to suggest bold but simple adjustments that Henley trusts instantly. At Congaree, Henley even changed his shot shape mid-tournament, switching from draws to fades on Sanders’s advice. This is probably the very reason why Henley places so much confidence in his caddie’s judgement.

Lefty’s biggest wins: his caddies

Phil Mickelson has never shied away from pressure. In fact, he’s often said he thrives on it. But he’s also candid about how it raises his heart rate and tests his decision-making, especially in the crucible of major championships. What’s helped him over the years is not just his own resilience, but the steady voice on the other side of the bag.

For more than 25 years, Jim “Bones” Mackay was the steadying voice beside him. Their partnership reached a peak at the 2013 Open Championship, where Mickelson’s brilliant final round ended in an emotional victory shared with Mackay. Mickelson later explained the trust at the heart of their success: “Bones is the only guy on the golf course that wants me to play well, so why am I going to sit there and berate him and treat him poorly?”

Mackay’s thoughtful approach balanced Mickelson’s famously aggressive style. This calming influence was especially important because Mickelson’s go-for-broke tendencies could either produce magic or costly errors. Even after their split, the caddie role remained central to Mickelson’s ability to handle pressure. In his 2021 PGA Championship win, he leaned on his brother Tim, using controlled breathing to slow his racing heart. Now on the LIV Tour, Mickelson works with Jon Yarbrough, whose green-reading skills he praises as vital in crunch time.

No matter how much the pressure, a golfer’s success has always been anchored by the stabilizing presence of the caddie on his bag.