THE WOODLANDS, Texas — We’ve seen everything from cannonballs to arms-splayed jumps of jubilee from players who have won The Chevron Championship and taken the celebratory leap into both Poppie’s Pond and the lake by the 18th green at The Club at Carlton Woods over the years.

But are the real stars of the legendary jump the caddies?

If you go back and look at photos of the past Chevron champions, you’ll often see their loopers doing some crazy mid-air moves before triumphantly splash-landing alongside their players at this major tournament, enjoying the moment just as much as the athletes for whom they work.

There have been belly flops and backflip barrel rolls, near-perfect swan dives and starfish-style plunges that would barely register as a zero at the Summer Olympics. But every caddie who has had the chance to jump alongside their player knows just how special the opportunity is and doesn’t take being a part of one of the most iconic celebrations in all of golf for granted.

Caddie to Lilia Vu of the United States The Chevron Championship has seen several memorable caddie jumps throughout the years, with many coming in recent editions of the major tournament. Ahead of this week in The Woodlands, Texas, 2023 champion Lilia Vu said what she recalls most vividly about becoming a first-time major winner at The Club at Carlton Woods was the massive belly flop her caddie, Cole Pensanti, did into the lake left of the 18th green after the duo won their playoff against Angel Yin.

But Pensanti isn’t the only looper whose winning leap has been a bit unconventional.

Pernilla Lindberg’s husband Daniel Taylor, who carried her sticks when she became a Rolex First-Time Winner at this event in 2018 at Mission Hills Country Club, leapt straight up and extended into a stick-straight dive after he and his wife outlasted Jennifer Song and Inbee Park in a playoff in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

When Lexi Thompson won her first and only major title at what was then known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship, her looper Benji Thompson, to whom she isn’t related, rolled into a backflip mid-air after leaping off the side of the 18th green.

However, even though those strong displays of athleticism are always fun to watch, it’s often the uncoordinated plunges that wind up being the most amusing.

Jason Hamilton, who carried the bag for Lydia Ko’s victory in 2016, landed face-first into Poppie’s Pond after seemingly bailing out of a belly flop at the last second. He didn’t make that mistake a second time when he got to take the plunge again alongside Patty Tavatanakit, electing to go with a classic cannonball in 2021 instead of getting a face full of pond water.

Adam Woodward, current looper for Charley Hull, went flying when he made the jump alongside Sun-Young Yoo at the 2012 playing of the major championship, and David Brooker managed to land pretty much flat on his back when he splashed into Poppie’s Pond alongside Jin Young Ko in 2019. And Matt Gelczis, who helped Mirim Lee to a victory at the 2020 Chevron Championship, went full poolside dad mode with a splashy celebratory belly flop.

So, if the antics of the loopers of the past are any indication, there are sure to be even more hilarious jumps in future editions of The Chevron Championship, as the winning caddies are sure to continue defying gravity when joyfully celebrating winning a major championship.

Are Caddies the Real Stars of the Jump at The Chevron Championship?

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