Open Championship caddies: Why it pays to have a loved one on the bag

Things were not looking good for Lee Westwood. A double bogey on the second hole threatened to turn a bad week - one in which his involvement in the Saudi breakaway league has come under heavy scrutiny - even worse.

Lucky, then, that he had his most trusted confidant on his bag: his wife Helen Storey.

Sixteen holes later and things were looking far rosier for Westwood, who recovered to post an impressive four-under-par as he strolled around St Andrews with Storey inside the ropes.

Westwood and Rory McIlroy, who starts Friday second at six-under-par with childhood friend Harry Diamond carrying his bag, are the flag bearers for the player-caddie relationship that means more than simply being the hired help.

Fanny Sunesson, Sir Nick Faldo’s caddie who helped him to the 1990 Open title here, is better placed than any to shed light on when the caddie business becomes pleasure. She was a professional caddie for hire when Faldo recruited her in 1989 but they quickly developed a bond more akin to siblings than colleagues. “It was great [working with him],” she says. “Nick is a perfectionist and so am I.

“We had fun, he was very focused on the course and so was I. We were a great team, and now he is a great friend, he is like family to me. He is like a brother.”

Showing the softer side of a fierce competitor, she explains: “He is family. I am very grateful to have that friendship. He is great fun, he is very witty, he is very kind. He tells great jokes, I am not as good, he is a fantastic joke teller, really brilliant, it was a lot of fun.”

Two-time Open winner Padraig Harrington was one of the first to turn to family, with brother-in-law Ronan Flood on his bag. Such is their closeness they have often shared hotel rooms.

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