It's no secret that players are very particular when it comes to their caddies and, often, a partnership between player and caddie can finish before it has even begun.
However, some stand for long periods of time, with one of those being Jim Furyk and Mike 'Fluff' Cowan. Now though, 25 years on from their debut tournament together, the pair have “amicably” separated.
First reported by Golfweek, Cowan stated: "It’s hard to part ways after 25 years. Sometimes the right thing to do is staring you right in the face and you’ve got to have the guts to do it."
According to Golfweek’s Adam Schupak, Furyk in fact, jokingly, threatened to fire Cowan, with the caddie now moving on to C.T. Pan's bag full-time, after Furyk had seen his schedule limited due to a number of injuries.
The parting brings an end to a relationship that has lasted for a quarter of a century, with the pair claiming a Major scalp at the 2003 US Open, as well as notable wins like Furyk's victory at the 2010 FedEx Cup, his PGA Tour Player of the Year honors and the 2021 US Senior Open.
According to Golfweek, a text from Furyk read: “Love the guy. I’m still struggling with injuries and I pushed him to work for C.T. full time. We (Champions Tour) play for $2 million. They play for $8-, $20-, $25-million. I knew it was a good opportunity for him, and C.T. has been playing pretty good (T-3 at the Mexico Open being his best result). (Fluff) was hesitant because he’s a great person at heart. But I pushed and we both knew it was best for him and his family.”
Fluff began caddying full-time in 1976 for Ed Sabo and, following two years with the American, Cowan moved to Peter Jacobsen's bag, a partnership which spanned two decades.
Following that, the 76-year-old was then caddie for none other than Tiger Woods in 1996, with Fluff part of the historic 1997 Masters victory. Splitting in 1999, he has been working for Furyk ever since, but now his next venture will be with Pan, a one-time PGA Tour winner who sits inside the world's top 150.
