NEWPORT — When the horn sounded at Newport Country Club on Sunday, players scurried off the course, trying to get inside before the impending weather hit. It also forced players and caddies to switch travel plans, finding arrangements to stay another night so they could get back to the club to finish up the final round of the U.S. Senior Open.
Mark "Ziggy" Zyons didn’t worry about any of it. After Sunday’s final round was officially postponed, he walked to his car, left the property and took the 40 minute drive back home to South Kingstown.
Billy Andrade and Brett Quigley have been Rhode Island’s face of the tournament, but Zyons has been a host in his own right. Zyons has been on the professional golf scene as long as Rhode Island's big three — Andrade, Brad Faxon and Quigley — but has been doing it as a caddie.
This tournament was a homecoming for Andrade and Quigley — with Faxon in the broadcast booth — but it’s also been one for Zyons.
“It can be tiring sometimes,” said Zyons of the job. “Even this week, guys want to get home and at the end of they day they say ‘you’ve got it easy, you just have to drive 40 minutes.'
“It’s home. Yeah, not a bad spot.”
Being a caddie wasn’t the goal when he started.
Zyons was a middle-school baseball player who got dropped off at the caddie yard at Kirkbrae Country Club and, as he put it, he just never left.
Zyons was coming up in the game with the players who put Rhode Island golf on the map — Andrade, Faxon, the Quigleys, P.H. Horgan, Eddie Kirby — playing tournaments against them and with them.
He started caddying for Kirkbrae head professional Stan Baluik in state opens and was on the bag for Kirby when he qualified for the 1984 U.S. Open. In 1987, Zyons was caddying for Kirby in the U.S. Open when Kirby shot 73-69 in the first two rounds to get inside the top 20 before eventually finishing tied for 58th.
Zyons was fresh out of college, still working officially and unofficially at Kirkbrae, hustling to make every last dollar. He got a job in sales, figured he could do that and be an amateur golfer, but hated it. In 1990 Kirby made the Ben Hogan Tour and asked Zyons to caddie. Zyons quit his job, jumped in a car and headed off to the first event, spending the year with Kirby driving tournament to tournament as the two chased a golf dream.
You work enough tournaments, other players take notice. Kirby ran into health issues, but Jim McGovern — another player on the Hogan Tour — took notice and asked Zyons to work for the rest of the season. McGovern played well enough to earn an exemption to the PGA Tour.
“I get asked a few times a year, 'how do you become a professional caddie on Tour?'” Zyons said. “They call it luck. You know someone, you kind of grind it out and then you get lucky.”
McGovern was up and down on Tour, losing his card after the 1991 season, getting it back in 1992 and winning the Houston Open in a playoff in 1993, a win highlighted by Zyons delivering a crucial pep talk to McGovern when it looked like McGovern was faltering late.
The work was steady, but life got in the way. McGovern’s family begin expanding, his schedule got lighter and his brother began caddying for him at events. Zyons had built a reputation for himself on Tour and told McGovern if they were going to part ways, he’d be able to find a job.
He just didn’t know it would be one that lasted over two decades.
In 1996 Zyons was hopping between bags for some of the Tour's younger players and carrying for Tim Herron and found himself in a pairing with Andrade.
Zyons knew Andrade from their days playing each other, still taking pride in beating Andrade — then the country’s top-ranked junior — when they were 17 years old. Andrade liked the way Zyons communicated with Herron and the next week, called Zyons and asked if he was interested in working with him for the season.
With no other full-time offers, Zyons accepted. Soon after, Herron and David Toms also asked Zyons to come work, but Zyons was good on his word. He met Andrade at TPC Scottsdale for the Phoenix Open in 1997 and has been by his side ever since.
A good player-caddie relationship is like a marriage. There will be ups and downs, but it’s built on trust. Zyons built it with Andrade early in their relationship.
“I gave some information he was looking for from a caddie about hitting shots, going back to get at a back pin, and just saying ‘let’s go,’” Zyons said. “He hit the shots, was playing great and said to me ‘Why didn’t I hire you before?’ ”
The players being the same age also helped at home. Andrade and Zyons were both starting family life at the same time and Andrade played a two-weeks-on, one-off schedule that allowed for steady work but allowed both to see their young families.
“God bless her for putting up with me flying in whenever,” said Zyons of wife Dawn. “I always wanted to be home. I don’t like saying I’m going on a golf trip so I can go to Pinehurst and play an extra three days.
“After Zac was born, there was no sense in being out there because there’s plenty of good golf to play around here.”
Zyons’ two oldest children are daughters Jessica and Jamie, with Zac being the baby of the family. He just finished his sophomore season playing baseball at Bryant, and last month, played in the NCAA Tournament. Zyons was caddying for Andrade during the Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores Golf Club during the America East Tournament, but was watching on TV with Andrade when Bryant beat UMBC, 4-1, to earn the NCAA bid.
After the win, Zyons told Andrade he’d miss the following week’s tournament so he could see his son play in person.
“He’s like all right, see you in Madison,” said Zyons, who was replaced by Andrade’s son Cameron for a week. “I’m like ‘hopefully not because if we win the regional I’m not coming to Madison.’”
This week was a special week for Zyons, who got to work and still enjoy all the pleasures of home. Between rounds, Zyons was able to watch Zac play for the Ocean State Waves and every day at Newport, he saw a familiar face.
“I’ve seen so many people who say ‘Hey Ziggy, remember me?’ ” Zyons said. “Kids I grew up with, they’ve got the normal jobs. The golfers I’ve played against, too.
“I took a chance, I guess.”
Zyons doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be caddying. He’s had two hips replaced and said his shoulder is shot. He joked that if legendary caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan is still out there at 76 years old, that means he might have to go another 16 years.
What makes Zyons successful is he doesn’t bother chasing perfection. He says golf is a game of imperfections and how you handle that is what separates the great players from the good ones.
He also says good caddies never stop learning. On Sunday morning a Newport Country Club caddie — who was working for Alex Cejka — was talking about how a matching dewpoint and temperature would lead to a fog delay, veterans caddies were confused. He explained why and sure enough, Sunday’s final round was delayed due to fog.
Caddies take care of one another out there. Watching Zyons work with Andrade on Sunday, there’s unspoken communication as caddies constantly helped one another with the little things fans don’t see like raking bunkers, handling the flagstick, getting water to players.
During the U.S. Senior Open, Zyons helped take care of a large group of colleagues. Most caddies share living accommodations during the season, but with sky-high summer prices for hotels in Middletown, there was concern about finding a place to stay that was close and convenient.
With relationships built over the years, Zyons made some calls to Salve Regina University for housing. Nearly 40 caddies stayed in the dorms last week, with the USGA doing its part to help ensure they were fed and had the comforts of home — including big-screen TVs that let the European caddies watch the UEFA Euro 2024 Tournament.
On Monday, he finished his tournament with one of the shortest work days of his career. Andrade and Zyons had one hole left when Sunday's weather delay hit, adding another story to a career that’s been filled with them.
“This game is about stories,” Zyons said. “It’s about who does what and we’re just trying to make more of them.”
Over the years, Dawn has put together recordings of Zyons’ biggest moments with Andrade, whether it’s winning tournaments, competing in majors or playing alongside legends of the game. These are the stories that Zyons talks about, but he hasn’t seen them.
“I caddied for Billy on the PGA Tour, when Tiger was in his prime and it was growing so fast,” Zyons said. “My wife has clips of me and I’ve never watched one. I’ve never had to watch it because I was there live.
“Maybe one day I’ll sit there and watch them.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0