If Rory McIlroy’s caddy, JP Fitzgerald, was a professional golfer, his earnings from the last event of the PGA Tour season alone would have seen him ranked 89th in the US money list.
As it is, Fitzgerald has no need to swing a golf club to earn a decent living, after it was revealed that the 49 year old from Dublin has just pocketed a $1.05million bonus following McIlroy’s victory at last month’s Tour Championship and FedExCup.
Speaking on the eve of the WGC Champions Tournament in China, McIlroy said that he only knew that the $10 million payout he got for winning the FedExCup had been paid out when he received a text from Fitzgerald which read ‘a ‘Tsunami has just hit my bank account, so thanks very much’.
The winner of the FedExCup receives $9 million in cash, while a further $1 million is deferred into a retirement account. McIlroy also earned $1.53 million from winning the Tour Championship.
Tour caddies typically get a set fee for the week, or an annual retainer, and then a percentage of earnings, which can be up to 10 percent for a victory. McIlroy said he paid his caddie 10 percent from the $9 million he took home that day from his FedEx Cup bonus, and 10 percent from the Tour Championship earnings.
“He deserved it,” McIlroy said. “JP’s a big part of what I do. He was with me when I was No.210 in the world, and when I was No.1.”
Fitzgerald, who lives in Dublin, has caddied for numerous leading players over the years, including Ernie Els, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley. He has been with McIlroy since the middle of his first full season as a professional in 2008.