Si Woo Kim has had a successful PGA Tour career that has included four wins, although only one of those has come alongside his current caddie.
The South Korean had Mark Carens on his bag for the biggest win of his career so far, the 2017 Players Championship, but in more recent times, he had more success alongside Brian Vranesh, including victory at the 2021 American Express.
However, it was all change again for Kim in 2022, when he linked up with Manuel Villegas, and the two have worked alongside each other since.
If the caddie's name sounds familiar, that's because he's the brother of Colombian PGA Tour pro Camilo Villegas. Like Camilo, Manuel also had a professional playing career. He graduated from the University of Florida in 2007 and turned pro the following year. He then played on circuits including the Web.com Tour (now the Korn Ferry Tour) and the PGA Tour Latinoamerica, which is where his most notable win came - the 2013 TransAmerican Power Products CRV Open.
However, he later took up caddying, including for Camilo on the PGA Tour in 2020.
In 2022, he linked up with Kim, with the two sharing significant early success as Kim claimed his fourth PGA Tour title at the 2023 Sony Open in Hawaii. Villegas has since been alongside Kim for other big moments, including the 2022 and 2024 editions of the Presidents Cup.
Another highlight for the pair came in the 2024 Open at Royal Troon, when Kim made an ace in the third round - after taking advice from Villegas. He explained: "My caddie told me you'd better hit hard with a 3-iron. So I did, and as soon as I contact good, so I see the ball over the fringe. That must be maybe inside 20 feet. I just take it off the ground and just back to the back, and people yelling at me like I didn't realize the ball goes in."
Villegas was also alongside Kim as he went toe-to-toe with Justin Thomas at the top of the leaderboard during the 2025 RBC Heritage, demonstrating that more highlights for the pair could be just around the corner.
