How a Hong Kong craft brewer got on the bag of European Tour event winner and earned a shot at a fortune in the Middle East
- Amateur caddie George Bigelow answered the call and struck up a partnership with Hong Kong Open winner Aaron Rai
- It was Englishman Rai’s first win on the Tour and propelled him to 123rd in the world rankings
The first-day video highlights showed the big names, Sergio Garcia, Patrick Reed and Tommy Fleetwood, with their insouciant swing, their precision on approach, their unerring putting.
The last part of the clip was of some golfer I didn’t recognise. Standing behind him, shouldering a golf bag, was someone I most certainly did. It was George – George Bigelow!
Over the next three days I developed a curiosity as to how an unheralded golfer with a stranger on his bag – one with limited experience – saw off the other 130 competitors.
Bigelow, a 50-year-old Californian and resident in Hong Kong for 25 years, got a phone call on the Monday before the Open from Dean Nelson, director of golf at Hong Kong Golf Club.
Bigelow is on a roster of local caddies having been on a bag in six Hong Kong Opens (making the cut only twice).
Most pro golfers are partnered by their regular caddie at every tournament, but Rai’s bagman was on paternity leave.
