Joe LaCava looping for Steve Stricker at Zurich Classic

Steve Stricker’s mind immediately went to Joe LaCava. Then he quickly scrapped the thought.

In need of a fill-in caddie for this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Stricker believed it was so much of a longshot it wasn’t even worth asking.

“I don’t think he’s going to want to come,” Stricker remembers thinking of LaCava, longtime caddie for Tiger Woods. “(He’s) a 65-year-old guy, (I’m a) washed up TOUR player.”

Stricker had already asked LaCava’s son, Joe Jr., who caddied for him at the Cologuard Classic on PGA TOUR Champions earlier this year, but he was caddying for Brandon Hagy on the Korn Ferry Tour. A handful of other caddies he reached out to were also unavailable.

“My wife was on Joe Sr. the whole time,” Stricker said Wednesday. “Just ask Joe, just ask Joe.”

Finally, he did. The response? “Oh, heck yeah.”

There was only one issue.

“Now he's upset I asked his kid first,” Stricker said, laughing.

They’ll have plenty of time to get through that dispute this week at TPC Louisiana, where Stricker will make his first PGA TOUR start of the season with LaCava by his side. Stricker has played five times on PGA TOUR Champions this year and finished inside the top 10 in each event, including a win at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai in January. LaCava, meanwhile, last caddied for Woods at the Masters. Woods announced Wednesday he underwent surgery on his right leg.

LaCava’s decision to fill in for the week was even easier given Stricker’s teammate, Zach Johnson. LaCava, Johnson and Johnson’s caddie, Brian Smith, are all good friends. The group was in good spirits playing Wednesday’s pro-am together as LaCava quickly got up to speed on Stricker’s game.

The duo of Stricker and Johnson were optimistic about their chances this week given their “eerily similar” games. Having a veteran like LaCava only added to their hopes.

“He's such a great guy, fun to be with, easy to be with,” Stricker said. “Obviously is very good at what he does. We've been having fun with him so far.”

Johnson and Stricker, captains for the US Ryder Cup team, are paired with European Ryder Cup captains Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari for the first two rounds. They tee off Thursday at 1:31 p.m. ET Thursday.