Role reversal! Tommy Fleetwood slips on caddie bib for Challenge Tour event
Tommy Fleetwood swapped roles on the Challenge Tour this week as he looks to steer his 17-year-old stepson towards success in the UAE…
13 years ago, Tommy Fleetwood won for the first time on the Challenge Tour at the Kazakhstan Open.
The rest, as they say is history, but the Englishman is revisiting this part of his career this week not as a player, but as a caddie.
Fleetwood is looping for his stepson Oscar Craig at the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, and the 17-year-old amateur got off to quite the start.
With the help of the seven-time DP World Tour winner and European Ryder Cup hero on his bag, Craig carded three birdies and no bogeys for an impressive 69 in round one.
This left him four shots behind fellow Englishman Josh Berry, who earned his DP World Tour card at Q-school last November, Wilco Nienaber and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
Tommy Fleetwood: Stepson forging path of his own in UAE
Craig, who is currently ranked 419th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, has played solidly in 2024 winning the RAK Men’s Open and the First Point USA event at the same place.
Now Dubai-based, Fleetwood and his family have an intimate connection with the area which is personified by the Tommy Fleetwood Academy which was opened at Jumeirah Golf Estates in 2022.
His stepson will be looking to emulate Fleetwood’s heroics from January when he outbattled Rory McIlroy to win the Dubai Invitational. He is also a two-time winner of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Fleetwood is enjoying a week off from the PGA Tour having recently finished in a tie for third at the Masters, and muddling through to a tie for 49th at the RBC Heritage.
Ironically, this story doesn’t constitute the first caddie-related switch Fleetwood saw in April. His own bag carrier Ian Finnis was ill during the Masters, so the man from Southport acquired the services of local caddie Gray Moore who helped him to a solid top-five finish.
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Matt Chivers
Now on the wrong side of 25, Matt has been playing golf since the age of 13 and was largely inspired to take up the game by countless family members who played golf during his childhood.
Matt is a member at Royal Cinque Ports in Deal playing off a 5 handicap, just a pitching wedge away from his hometown of Dover where he went to school and grew up. He has previously been a member at Etchinghill and Walmer and Kingsdown in Kent.
Having studied history at the University of Liverpool, Matt went on to pass his NCTJ Exams in Manchester a year later to fulfil his lifelong ambition of becoming a journalist. He picked up work experience along the way at places such as the Racing Post, the Independent, Sportsbeat and the Lancashire Evening Post.
Matt joined NCG in February 2023 and is the website’s main source of tour news, features and opinion. He has reported live from events such as The Open, the Ryder Cup and The Players Championship, having also interviewed and spent time with some of the biggest names in the sport.
Consuming tour golf on what is a 24/7 basis, you can come to Matt for informed views on the game and the latest updates on the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour, Ladies European Tour and LIV Golf.
What’s in Matt’s bag: Cobra LTDx LS driver, Cobra LTDx 3-wood, TaylorMade P7MC irons, Ping Glide 4.0 wedges, Odyssey putter.
