When one of the best golfers in the world changes caddies, those who follow the sport pay attention, as was the case when Bryson DeChambeau parted ways with his longtime partner Tim Tucker. Just over a week since that public split, the No. 6 golfer on the planet has found his replacement.
DeChambeau hired a lead instructor at Dallas National, his home course, to join him on the green, Brian Zeigler. This is someone the golfer knows well, as he described to Golf.com.
"Brian has been a big part of my life for a while now," DeChambeau said. "We did a lot of speed training stuff together. He was the motivator and the hype man. He helped me reach new [personal records] I never believed I would get to."
Zeigler's first event as DeChambeau's caddie will be The Open Championship, which starts on Thursday in England. Even with this sudden change, the golfer swears there's no hard feelings with Tucker.
"Everybody always thinks there was some kind of falling out, but there really wasn't. This was in the works for a while," DeChambeau said. "Tim is a really, really great friend of mine. He's somebody that I've cared about, and still care about, and will care about for the rest of my life."
Tucker even provided his own explanation for the break up.
"We were really tired. The season; the tour schedule was grinding on us, grinding on me. I knew I was working on this business on the side; we've had a very intense relationship where he works a lot of hours," Tucker said. "It was a little bit of me not being 100 percent healthy and happy . . . We made the best decision for the both of us."
The Open Championship takes place July 15-18 at Royal St. George's in Sandwich, Kent in England.
