Chris Kirk’s caddie helped design his new putter, and it’s paying off at FedEx St. Jude

GERMANTOWN, Tenn. – A caddie’s role goes far beyond “bag carrier.” Enter Michael Cromie, who caddies for early FedEx St. Jude Championship leader Chris Kirk. At the first stop of the FedExCup Playoffs, his work involved surprising his boss with a new putter and picking the perfect lines on the putting surfaces.

Kirk carded an opening-round 64 in the Memphis heat Thursday, highlighted by a hole-in-one at the par-3 14th hole, to move in front at TPC Southwind. But what likely won’t be found in the highlights package is the help on and around the greens from his trusty caddie.

“Michael (Cromie) is doing a really good job with AimPoint, which is kind of new for us,” Kirk said after his first round. “People watching on TV at home at The Open were kind of laughing because they see me – Michael is reading the putt, I don't like for him to hold the flag while he's doing it because I feel like it might mess up his balance a little bit, so I'm off to the side holding the flag, looking in the crowd or whatever, just waiting for him to point at where he wants me to line the line up.

“It's gone really well. It mentally has been very freeing for me because I can just focus on hitting a good putt down that line and watching that line spiral. I've really enjoyed the change, and today was certainly a good day for it.”

It certainly worked for the duo in the first round at TPC Southwind, as Kirk ranked sixth in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining over two shots on the field on the greens. The Georgia Bulldog made more than 100 feet worth of putts, highlighted by long birdies on the third, sixth and 12th holes from outside 17 feet.

In addition to reading the greens and working AimPoint, Cromie surprised the six-time PGA TOUR winner with a new flatstick for the first leg of the FedExCup Playoffs that he had designed with the help of Cody Hale, the TOUR’s Odyssey rep.

“The putter I'm using was something that Michael, my caddie – it was kind of his idea, along with (Hale) … and they kind of got together and talked about something that they thought I would like,” Kirk said.

The two worked up the design for the “Chris Kirk No. 7” as Kirk called it, that features a variation of a No. 7 T putter head with a custom neck and a clean custom paint job that doesn’t include sightlines, before handing it to him in Memphis.

“(It) had some similarities to one that I've had some success with in the past, but a little bit kind of added stability versus the one that I was putting with, that I used at the U.S. Open and through (The Open),” Kirk said. “It was a putter that I got 10-plus years ago. So just kind of an updated technology version of that.”

After a season-opening victory at The Sentry, Kirk and Cromie also made headlines during THE PLAYERS Championship when the two talked about their peculiar method to keep Kirk calm on the golf course. From general knowledge to music or Civil War trivia, the pair regularly use the distraction inside the ropes.

Kirk captured his sixth PGA TOUR victory at the season opener in Kapalua and has since produced steady results, standing No. 28 on the FedExCup into Memphis. Two solid weeks for the pairing will see Kirk qualify for the TOUR Championship for the first time since his East Lake debut a decade ago, where he ultimately finished No. 2 on the FedExCup.

It’s a long stretch to make it to Atlanta, but Kirk and Cromie have the moxie to get there.