Chris Kirk is on the record stating he believes in a regular caddie rotation to keep things fresh, but his successful partnership with Michael Cromie could just be changing that opinion.
The 38-year-old ended a eight-year winless run with a victory at the 2023 Honda Classic with Cromie on his bag and the duo have been teaming up regularly since June 2020, as they now search for a sixth PGA Tour win.
Previously, Kirk changed his caddies on a regular basis, including the last year he played on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2010 and in the first year on the PGA Tour in 2011. Kirk then decided to keep Scott Tway as his looper for a year, before returning to the system of caddie rotation until finding success with Cromie.
Cromie, a Georgia golf alumnus, was introduced to the game at four but played lots of sports until the age of 11, when his father asked him to choose two which he was most passionate about and would like to pursue in the future.
Cromie later went on to become a part of the Georgia Bulldogs golf team, where he had an impressive career with four top-10 finishes from five starts in his senior year, including two eighth places and a T5 at the 2013-14 Carpet Capital Collegiate where he scored a two-under 214.
Now though, it is his work with Kirk that is Cromie's sole focus. The duo have helped the pro amass over $26 million in prize money and look set for another good payday at the start of 2024, with Kirk in contention to win The Sentry in his first start of the year.
It has been a big turnaround for Kirk who, in 2019, announced that he was to take an "indefinite leave" from golf to battle his struggles with alcohol and mental health. He subsequently played on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 and has risen back up the world rankings and is set to feature inside the top-50 in 2024 with Cromie by his side.
