Sunshine Tour shines a light on caddies

Every week, the Sunshine Tour showcases the men who grew up dreaming of greatness and who live out those dreams on the fairways. But this year, the Tour decided to also shine a light on the men or women who stand alongside them – the caddies.

At every prizegiving on the Sunshine Tour, the winning golfer’s caddie is also welcomed forward and awarded a medallion in recognition of the role he or she played in that victory.

It’s a public recognition of the people who are often in the background, but who work every bit as hard as their professionals. They rise just as early before dawn to get to the golf course. They spend just as much time away from home and loved ones. And they take just as much pleasure in their work, and the ultimate reward of victory.

“It’s such a beautiful thing that the Sunshine Tour is doing. It’s so inspiring. With the medallion handover people can see what we do as caddies,” says Albert Mciteka, who has won two medallions this year already with two different players in Pieter Moolman at the Limpopo Championship and Haydn Porteous at the Vodacom Origins of Golf at Gowrie Farm Lodge & Golf Course.

“It feels amazing to have achieved that, especially with two different players.”

Behind every bag carried and yardage book done is a story.

Mciteka’s story in golf began when he was still in primary school.

“I grew up in Stellenbosch and I’ve been caddieing since I was in primary school at Koelenhof Primary. I used to skip school just so that I could caddie and make some extra cash. And I just kept on going from there. I’ve been caddieing professionally for over 15 years now, on the Sunshine Tour and a bit on the DP World Tour.

“Golf means so much to me. I grew up with golf. There were one or two years where I worked because things were a bit tough, but I missed golf too much. I met Pieter Moolman five years ago and we just clicked, and we’re still together now.”

Much like the professionals who have their golfers they look up to, the caddies do the same within their own ranks.

“The late Douglas Mthembu was a mentor for me. He won the Joburg Open with Haydn Porteous. I’d often speak to him and he’d tell me how to do my job to the best of my ability.”

It’s a job he and every other caddie on the Sunshine Tour does with pride every single week.

“I’ve been fortunate to have won twice this year, but I don’t think I have any secret. I just read the greens, do my yardage book, and check potential flags for the next rounds. I just do my normal thing,” he says.

And yet every single week, it helps to unlock the extraordinary performances on the Sunshine Tour.