Rickie Fowler and long-time caddie Joe Skovron part ways

One of the TOUR’s longest player-caddie partnerships has come to an end after Rickie Fowler and longtime caddie Joe Skovron parted.

Golf Channel first reported the news.

Skovron had been on Fowler’s bag for his entire pro career, which has featured five PGA TOUR victories, including the 2015 PLAYERS Championship. Asked about the split after his practice round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Tuesday, Fowler said they’ve been friends since they were kids and remain so. He didn’t want to elaborate on who initiated the move.

“It was a team decision,” Fowler said. “Decided to go different ways. It could be the best option currently. By no means does this mean it’s the end of the road. He’s like a big brother to me.”

Ben Schomin, who works for Cobra-Puma and caddied for Bryson DeChambeau, will caddie for Fowler this week. Fowler called it a temporary situation and said he wasn’t sure about a plan moving forward.

“He’s spent a lot of time, between Bryson and I, on testing and whatnot,” Fowler said of Schomin. “It was an easy call for me, at least for this week. We’re close, good friends, and we’ll have some fun out there, that’s for sure.”

Fowler has struggled of late, missing the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time last season and earning the final spot in this week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship as No. 125 in the FedExCup standings. It was last Friday afternoon, after Fowler had missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the regular season, that the two decided to pause their professional relationship.

“It is different,” Fowler said. “In 13 years, there’s been only one other week, my rookie year, when I had someone else on the bag. One of our assistants from Oklahoma State, Donnie Darr, he caddied for me at the Memorial. Outside of that Joe has been my guy.”

Fowler and Skovron go way back. They both grew up in the Temecula Valley region of Southern California, and Skovron’s parents, Joe and Valarie, ran the Valley Junior Golf Association where Fowler played some of his first tournaments.

“I’ve known Joe since I was 2 or 3,” Fowler said. “It’s much more than a business thing for me. Like I said, he’s like a big brother, and we’ve always been a team; just thought it was potentially the best option for right now.”

Fowler turned pro in 2009, finishing T2 in his second TOUR start as a pro. He earned his card at Q-School later that year and has been on TOUR ever since. He was the 2010 Rookie of the Year and made the first of his four Ryder Cup appearances that year. He also has played in three Presidents Cups.

In addition to his five PGA TOUR wins, Fowler has three international wins: the 2011 Korean Open, 2015 Scottish Open and 2016 Abu Dhabi Championship. Fowler has not won on TOUR since the 2019 WM Phoenix Open, however.

Despite missing the cut last week he hung on to the 125th spot in the FedExCup. He earned half his points in a T3 finish at THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT in the fall, his lone top-10 of the season. He had only two additional top-25s and missed the cut in nine of 21 starts this season.

This is the second straight week with a high-profile caddie change, as Will Zalatoris parted ways with caddie Ryan Goble last week. Zalatoris now has Joel Stock, former caddie for Ben Crane and Cameron Tringale, this week. Stock, who will debut on Zalatoris’ bag at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, was on the bag for Ben Crane’s 2016 victory at TPC Southwind.