Hamilton-
Al Riddell was about to grab a quiet coffee with his family on Sunday afternoon when his father asked him if he had heard that Mike (Fluff) Cowan, CT Pan's caddie, had slipped during the fourth round of the RBC Canadian Open and a fan had started carrying his bag for him.
Riddell put his own caddying gear back on and headed back to Hamilton Golf and Country Club to see if Pan, an old friend of his from the Mackenzie Tour, needed help.
“I don't live far away. I'm from here. I live 15 minutes away. So we just got changed and got ready,” Riddell said. “I just went over to check on him and make sure he was OK, if he needed anyone, and I filled in for the back nine.”
Riddell is normally the caddie for Paul Barjon, who missed the cut on Friday, and was the last of Pan's four caddies available for the final round of the Canadian Open. Pan played in the rain to a respectable 1-under-par 69.
Cowan, Pan's regular caddy, fell halfway through the third hole. Paul Emerson, a fan watching the tournament, stepped between the ropes to carry Pan's club through the fourth hole.
The Taiwanese golfer managed a birdie on hole 3, but a bogey on hole 4.
Mike Campbell, who works as a caddie at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, handled holes five through nine. This pair picked up birdies on the eighth and ninth holes.
Riddell and Pan's wife Michelle – who had caddied for him before – were waiting to fill in for Campbell on the 10th hole. Pan eventually chose Riddell for the final nine holes of the round.
“I just brought my yardage book and if he needed information, I had it,” Riddell said. “And if he didn't, he just wanted me to be quiet, which most people do. I just stayed quiet. So it worked out.”
Pan made an eagle on the par 4 hole no. 12, but also a bogey on holes 11 and 16.
Cowan, 76, was not seriously injured in the fall.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2024.